England and Welsh Drawn Together for the 2027 World Cup in Australia
The English side together with their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and the Irish until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at launch the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B β probably Italy β in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third 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
