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England and Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.

This draw mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.

Key Pool Draws

The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.

Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.

Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.

Tournament Ramifications

Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland until the final.

In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.

Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener

Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.

The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the competition.

Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.

Expanded Format for 2027

Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in 2023.

This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.

While the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.

Four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side 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