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England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.

This pairing echoes their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.

Other Notable Group Pairings

The Irish and the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.

Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as underdogs in France, complete that same group.

Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.

Tournament Ramifications

Should the pools play out in line with the current global standings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France 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 remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.

Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener

Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.

Australia will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at launch the competition.

Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.

Larger Format for 2027

Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.

This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.

Although the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.

Four of the other 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