The English side and Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups play out according to the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland until the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will face 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
