The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Key Pool Draws
Ireland alongside the Scots also share a pool together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the groups play out according to the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both England and the Irish all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
Rugby World Cup 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
