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England together with Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.

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

Key Group Pairings

Ireland alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a convincing win, with their opponents unable to progress to the knockout stages.

Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.

Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their own group.

Tournament Implications

Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.

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

Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture

Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.

Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.

Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. France are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.

Expanded Format for 2027

Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.

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

Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.

A total of four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.

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