England along with Wales Drawn Together for RWC 2027 Down Under
The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face 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
