England along with Welsh Placed Together for the 2027 World Cup Down Under
The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools play out according to the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will face 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 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
RWC 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
