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England together with Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.

This pairing recalls their memorable clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.

Other Notable Group Draws

Ireland alongside Scotland also share a pool together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.

Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.

Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one South Africa before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their own group.

Tournament Ramifications

Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from both the English and Ireland until the final.

In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.

Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture

Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.

The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at launch the competition.

In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.

Larger Format for 2027

Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.

The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round 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 biggest beasts initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.

A total of four of the remaining six group winners will face a team that finished third 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