The English side together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 win, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will play a third-placed side from the pool stages.
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
