England and Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out according to the current global standings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining 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
