The English side and Wales will face off in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish and the Scots also share a group once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third 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
