The English side together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and world number one South Africa before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions 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 USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
