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England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.

This draw echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.

Other Notable Pool Draws

The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.

Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.

Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the Springboks top their own group.

Tournament Ramifications

If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.

Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.

Hosts Draw Major Opener

Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.

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

Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.

Larger Format for 2027

Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.

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

While the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.

A total of four of the other 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