England and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots also share a group together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
