England and Welsh Drawn in the Same Group for 2027 Rugby World Cup Down Under

The English side and Wales have been drawn in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.

This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.

Key Group Draws

The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.

Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in France, complete that same group.

Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.

Tournament Ramifications

Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.

In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.

Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture

Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.

Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the competition.

In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.

Expanded Tournament for 2027

Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.

The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.

While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.

A total of four of the remaining six group winners will play a third-placed side from the pool stages.

RWC 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