England along with Welsh Drawn Together for 2027 Rugby World Cup Down Under

England together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.

This pairing echoes their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock early exit.

Other Notable Pool Draws

The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.

Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that same group.

Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the final, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.

Knockout Ramifications

Should the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.

In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.

Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener

Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.

The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.

Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.

Expanded Format for 2027

Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in 2023.

The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence.

While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.

A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.

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