England and Wales have been drawn in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their memorable clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
