🔗 Share this article The English and Wales Drawn Together for the 2027 World Cup Down Under The pool stage draw was overseen by rugby legends including former All Black Dan Carter. England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables. This pairing mirrors their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination. Other Notable Group Pairings The Irish and Scotland also share a pool together, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages. Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D. Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group. Knockout Implications If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider. In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland. Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A. Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the competition. In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa. Larger Tournament for 2027 Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France. This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence. While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round. A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase. RWC 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