The English side together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools conclude 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 all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup 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 Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
