England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early 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 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a pool once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression 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 the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
Pool E
Pool F
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