The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
Ireland alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.
While the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 2027 Draw
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
