The English side and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their memorable clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a group once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a convincing win, with their opponents unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out 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, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from 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.
A total of four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third 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
