England and Wales have been drawn in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland and Scotland also share a group together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks before the final, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
While the victor 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 – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
