England together with Wales 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 Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six pool 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
