England and Wales have been drawn in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
RWC 2027 Groups
Pool A
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Chile
- Hong Kong
Pool B
- South Africa
- Italy
- Georgia
- Romania
Pool C
- Argentina
- Fiji
- Spain
- Canada
Pool D
- Ireland
- Scotland
- Uruguay
- Portugal
Pool E
- France
- Japan
- USA
- Samoa
Pool F
- England
- Wales
- Tonga
- Zimbabwe
