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England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.

This draw mirrors their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.

Key Group Draws

The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing win, with Scotland unable to progress to the quarter-finals.

Uruguay and Portugal, 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 holders and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their own group.

Tournament Ramifications

If the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the final.

Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.

Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture

Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.

The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the event.

In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.

Larger Format for 2027

Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.

This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.

Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.

A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will face a team that finished third 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