England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa until the final, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from both England and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
