England together with their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face 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
