England v Wales, Australia v New Zealand and Ireland v Scotland are the highest profile ties in first-ever 24-team World Cup as defending champions Springboks get easy group
England will face Six Nations rivals Wales in the pool stages of the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup. In a draw that threw up several box-office ties, hosts Australia are grouped with arch-rivals New Zealand, while Ireland will meet Scotland.
The Springboks, chasing an unprecedented third World Cup victory in a row, are in a pool with Italy, Georgia and Romania.
Although the Welsh won’t relish facing Steve Borthwick’s impressive England, the draw has been remarkably kind to Steve Tandy’s struggling side.
Tonga (ranked 18th in the world) and Zimbabwe (ranked 24th) were among the weakest teams in their respective bands in the draw, meaning Wales will fancy their chances of finishing in Pool F’s top two, and making it through to the knockout stages.
But the tournament organisers will be even more happy that the competition’s opening rounds will include a fixture that’s guaranteed to bring in the crowds, as the Wallabies take on Rugby Championship rivals the All Blacks. Don’t be surprised if this turns out to be the tournament opener in Perth, a curtain raiser to rival France v New Zealand in 2023.
The two southern hemisphere giants, also face Chile and – making their first ever appearance in the tournament – Hong Kong China in Pool A.
In Pool C, Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada, while in Pool E, France have appointments with Japan, the United States and Samoa.
In Pool D, meanwhile, Ireland and Scotland renew their (in recent years) one-sided rivalry – will Gregor Townsend’s men be able to secure a rare victory over Andy Farrell’s team on the biggest stage of all? The Six Nations pair also play Uruguay and Portugal.
The Men’s Rugby World Cup draw took place in Sydney on Wednesday 3 December 2025. The teams were drawn by World Rugby chairman Brett Robinson, recently retired Wallaby James Slipper (one of the most capped men’s rugby players of all time), All Blacks legend Dan Carter and Alicia Lucas, a member of the Australia team that won Sevens gold at the 2016 Olympics.
The six pools of four contain a team from each of four seeded bands, based on current world rankings. For more on the format of the first ever 24-team tournament, check out our guide to the Men’s Rugby World Cup draw.
Brett Robinson, James Slipper, host Morgan Turinui, Alicia Lucas and Dan Carter perform the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup draw (Mark Kolbe – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
Rugby World Cup 2027: The Pools
Pool A
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Chile
- Hong Kong China
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
Hosts Australia will kick off the tournament against one of their Pool A opponents in Perth/Boorloo on Friday 1 October, 2027. The fixture schedule is set to be announced in January 2026.
In addition to Perth/Boorloo, the other World Cup host cities will be Adelaide/Tarntanya, Brisbane/Meeanjin, Melbourne/Narrm, Newcastle/Awabakal-Worimi, Sydney/Gadigal and Townsville/Gurambilbarra.
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