🔗 Share this article The English and Welsh Pitted Together for 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia The group draw was overseen by sporting legends such as two-time World Cup winner Dan Carter. England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe. This draw recalls their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination. Other Notable Pool Draws The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages. Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D. Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their own group. Knockout Ramifications Should the pools play out according to the current global standings, 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 top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams. Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A. The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the event. In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa. Larger Tournament for 2027 Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France. This edition will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence. While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16. A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages. 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