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England together with their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.

This draw echoes their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.

Other Notable Group Pairings

Ireland and the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to advance 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.

Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.

Knockout Ramifications

If the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and the Irish until the championship decider.

In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.

Hosts Draw Major Fixture

Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.

Australia will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to launch the event.

In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.

Expanded Tournament for 2027

Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.

The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.

Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.

Four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side 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