The English side together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the final, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand 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.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
