🔗 Share this article England and Welsh Pitted in the Same Group for 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia The pool stage draw was conducted by sporting icons such as two-time World Cup winner Dan Carter. England and Wales have been drawn in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables. This pairing echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit. Key Group Draws The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with their opponents unable to progress to the knockout stages. Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D. Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the South Africans win their own group. Knockout Implications If the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider. Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams. Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A. The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at jump-start the competition. Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa. Expanded Tournament for 2027 Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023. The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's history. While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round. A total of four of the other six pool winners will play a team that finished third 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