England together with Wales will face off in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their memorable clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one South Africa until the final, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – 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.
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
