England and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to launch the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature 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 biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
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
