England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature 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 rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
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
