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England and Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.

This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.

Other Notable Group Pairings

The Irish and the Scots also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.

Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.

Significantly, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the South Africans win their own group.

Knockout Implications

If the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and the Irish until the championship decider.

Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.

Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener

Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.

The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the competition.

In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.

Larger Tournament for 2027

Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.

The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's history.

Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.

A total of four of the other six pool winners will play a third-placed side 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