The English side together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, presuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
