The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their memorable clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side 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
