England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third 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
