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England and Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.

This draw mirrors their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.

Key Pool Draws

Ireland and Scotland also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.

Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.

Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and world number one South Africa before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.

Knockout Ramifications

Should the pools conclude in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish all the way to the final.

Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.

Hosts Draw Major Fixture

Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.

The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at jump-start the event.

In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.

Larger Tournament for 2027

Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.

The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.

While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.

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

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