England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland and Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
If the groups conclude according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at launch the event.
Elsewhere, 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 Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the victor 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 first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
