The English and Welsh Placed in the Same Group for RWC 2027 in Australia
England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six group winners will play 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
