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England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.

This pairing mirrors their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.

Other Notable Pool Pairings

Ireland alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.

Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.

Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.

Knockout Implications

Should the pools play out according to the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.

Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.

Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture

Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.

The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the competition.

In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.

Larger Tournament for 2027

Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.

The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round 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 game's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.

Four of the remaining six group winners will play a team that finished third 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