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England together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.

This draw echoes their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.

Other Notable Group Pairings

The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.

Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as underdogs in France, round out that same group.

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

Knockout Implications

Should the groups play out according to the current global standings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland until the championship decider.

In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.

Hosts Face Major Fixture

Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.

The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the event.

Elsewhere, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.

Expanded Tournament for 2027

Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.

The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.

Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.

A total of four of the remaining six pool 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