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England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.

This draw mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' shock early exit.

Key Group Draws

The Irish alongside 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 knockout stages.

Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.

Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.

Tournament Implications

Should the pools conclude in line with the current global standings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland until the final.

In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.

Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture

Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.

The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the event.

Elsewhere, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Samoa.

Larger Tournament for 2027

Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.

The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.

Although the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool 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