England along with Welsh Drawn in the Same Group for RWC 2027 Down Under
The English side and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
Rugby World Cup 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
