🔗 Share this article England and Wales Placed in the Same Group for 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia The pool stage draw was conducted by sporting icons including two-time World Cup winner Dan Carter. England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major pool stage clash in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables. This pairing echoes their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination. Other Notable Group Pairings The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals. Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that same group. Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their own group. Knockout Implications If the pools play out according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland until the championship decider. In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams. Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture Hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A. The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the event. In other groups, reigning champions South Africa 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 Format for 2027 Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 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 be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round. Four of the remaining six group winners will play a third-placed side from the pool stages. Rugby World Cup 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