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England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.

This pairing echoes their famous meeting 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 surprise early exit.

Other Notable Pool Draws

The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.

Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.

Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.

Knockout Ramifications

Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.

Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.

Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener

Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.

The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.

Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.

Expanded Format for 2027

Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.

This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.

While the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.

A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.

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