The English and Wales Placed in the Same Group for 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia

The English side together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.

This draw mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.

Key Group Pairings

The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool once again, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the knockout stages.

Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.

Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans win their own group.

Tournament Implications

If the groups play out according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland until the championship decider.

In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.

Hosts Draw Major Fixture

Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.

The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the competition.

In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.

Larger Format for 2027

Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.

The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.

Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.

A total of four of the other 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