The English side together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from holders and top-ranked South Africa until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the groups conclude in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, 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 pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
