🔗 Share this article England along with Wales Pitted Together for RWC 2027 Down Under The pool stage draw was overseen by rugby icons including two-time World Cup winner Dan Carter. The English side together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major pool stage encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe. This pairing recalls their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the English team's surprise early exit. Other Notable Group Pairings Ireland and Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 win, with their opponents failing to advance to the knockout stages. Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group. Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one South Africa until the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their own group. Tournament Implications Should the groups conclude according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the championship decider. In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland. Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A. The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the competition. Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Samoa. Larger Tournament for 2027 Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in 2023. The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence. While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round. Four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase. RWC 2027 Groups 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