England together with Wales will face off in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing recalls their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side 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
