England together with Wales have been drawn in the same group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a pool together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools conclude in line with 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.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will play a third-placed side 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
