The English along with Wales Placed Together for RWC 2027 in Australia
The English side together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major pool stage clash in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland and Scotland also share a pool once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups conclude in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although 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 second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
RWC 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