England together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland and the Scots also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the groups play out according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from the likes of the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group 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 pool stages.
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
