England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from the likes of the English and the Irish until the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the event.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team 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.
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
