The English and Welsh Placed Together for RWC 2027 in Australia
The English side together with Wales will face off in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at launch the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
