The English side together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will play a third-placed side from the pool stages.
RWC 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
