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The English side and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.

This pairing echoes their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock group stage elimination.

Other Notable Pool Draws

The Irish and the Scots also share a group once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.

Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.

Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.

Knockout Implications

Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.

In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.

Hosts Draw Major Opener

Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.

Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.

Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.

Expanded Tournament for 2027

Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.

The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.

While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the last 16.

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