The English side and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their memorable clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
If the pools play out according to the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will play a team that finished third 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
