🔗 Share this article The English and Wales Drawn Together for the 2027 World Cup Down Under The group draw was conducted by sporting icons including two-time World Cup winner Dan Carter. England together with Wales have been drawn in the same group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe. This draw recalls their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit. Other Notable Pool Draws The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the knockout stages. Los Teros and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in France, round out that same group. Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, assuming the Springboks top their assigned pool. Tournament Ramifications Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider. Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams. Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A. The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition. Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa. Expanded Tournament for 2027 Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France. The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence. While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round. A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase. RWC 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