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. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing recalls their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks before the final, assuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
Rugby World Cup 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
