The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.
While the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
