🔗 Share this article England and Wales Pitted Together for RWC 2027 Down Under The group draw was overseen by rugby legends such as former All Black Dan Carter. The English side and Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables. This draw echoes their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' shock group stage elimination. Other Notable Pool Pairings The Irish alongside the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals. Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D. Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one South Africa until the final, presuming the South Africans win their own group. Knockout Ramifications Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and Ireland all the way to the final. In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland. Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture Hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A. Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the competition. Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa. Larger Tournament for 2027 Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in 2023. The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history. Although the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round. A total of four of the other six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase. 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