England and Welsh Drawn Together for RWC 2027 Down Under
The English side and Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots also share a group once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one South Africa until the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Hosts Australia have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to launch the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, 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 pool winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
