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England together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.

This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' shock early exit.

Other Notable Group Draws

The Irish and Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.

Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.

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

Tournament Ramifications

Should the groups play out in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the championship decider.

Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.

Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener

Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.

The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the event.

In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.

Larger Tournament for 2027

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

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

Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.

A total of four of the remaining six group winners will face a third-placed side 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