The English side and Wales will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing win, with their opponents failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the final, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
Should the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will play a third-placed side from the pool stages.
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
