The pools for Rugby World Cup 2027 were confirmed on Wednesday following the official draw in Sydney, with England drawn in Pool F.
The World Cup will return to Australia in 2027 for the first time since England lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in 2003, and the current world number threes will be quite content with their pool.
Steve Borthwick’s side have been drawn with Wales, Tonga and Zimbabwe, but, due to the expanded tournament format, will not meet another pool winner until the semi-finals should they top their pool.
Of course, there is no guarantee there, particularly as Wales defeated England in the pool stages at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium in 2015 to effectively dump the hosts out of their own World Cup. But England currently sit eight places above 11th-place Wales in the world rankings, and on form, should feel confident.
Winning Pool F would set up a round of 16 clash with the runner-up of Pool B, likely Italy or Georgia. Should they progress to the quarter-finals, it would be against the runner-up of Pool A. While that ostensibly appears favourable, Pool A contains both tournament hosts, Australia and the All Blacks.
Winning Pool F would result in either England or Wales avoiding falling in reigning champions South Africa’s half of the draw in the knock-outs, assuming they leave Pool B victorious.
World Rugby chair Brett Robinson oversaw proceedings alongside former All Black Dan Carter, ex-Wallabies captain James Slipper and Olympic sevens gold medallist Alicia Lucas.
The draw followed the standard four-band format, with each pool receiving one team from each band based on the current World Rankings.
Band 1 consisted of South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France and Argentina. Band 2 featured Australia, Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales and Japan. Band 3 included Georgia, Spain, Uruguay, USA, Chile and Tonga. Band 4 was completed by Samoa, Portugal, Romania, Hong Kong China, Zimbabwe and Canada.
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
The pools have been drawn for RWC 2027