The English side together with Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
