England together with Wales will face off in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland and Scotland also share a group together, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from holders and top-ranked South Africa until the final, assuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the groups play out according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
While the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six group 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
