The English side and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool once again, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, presuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will face 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
