England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Group Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both England and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
RWC 2027 Draw
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
