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England together with Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.

This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.

Other Notable Group Draws

Ireland and Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.

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

Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks before the final, presuming the South Africans win their own group.

Tournament Ramifications

If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the final.

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

Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture

Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.

Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the competition.

In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have drawn Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.

Larger Tournament for 2027

Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.

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

Although the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.

A total of four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.

Rugby World Cup 2027 Groups

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