England and Wales Drawn Together for 2027 Rugby World Cup Down Under
England together with Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage clash 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 English team's shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third 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
