England’s easy route to Rugby World Cup final after warm-up matches confirmed

Thursday, 03 September 2026 at 16:02

bySteven Smith

England’s preparations for the 2027 Rugby World Cup are beginning to take shape – and Steve Borthwick’s side could hardly have asked for a more favourable route through the tournament itself.

The latest piece of the puzzle is England’s pre-World Cup schedule, with next August and September.

The Times reporting that Ireland, France and Italy will all visit Twickenham for warm-up Tests

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England have traditionally played four warm-up matches before a World Cup, but that number will be reduced to three ahead of Australia 2027.

All three are expected to be staged at Allianz Stadium, giving Borthwick three serious examinations before his squad heads Down Under.

The matches also mean England now have just 12 Tests remaining before the World Cup, comprising four Nations Championship fixtures this autumn, five Six Nations matches and the three warm-ups.

England’s World Cup pool

Once they arrive in Australia, the difficulty appears to drop considerably.

England were handed arguably the most favourable draw of the leading nations when they were placed alongside Wales, Tonga and Zimbabwe in Pool F.

Their schedule is:

October 2 – England v Tonga
Brisbane Stadium

October 8 – England v Zimbabwe
Adelaide Oval

October 16 – England v Wales
Stadium Australia, Sydney

England will be overwhelming favourites to win the pool, although Wales famously beat them 28-25 at Twickenham during the pool stage of the 2015 World Cup.

Finishing top would then open up an intriguing route through the new-look knockout stages.

Round of 16 – Italy or Georgia?

The expanded 24-team World Cup introduces a Round of 16 for the first time.

If England win Pool F, they will face the runner-up from Pool B, which contains South Africa, Italy, Georgia and Romania. With the Springboks expected to top that group, England's most likely opponents would therefore be Italy or Georgia.

Neither would be taken lightly, but it would represent a significantly less intimidating first knockout fixture than several of England's rivals could face.

Quarter-final – Australia or Japan?

This is where England's draw becomes particularly interesting.

The winner of England's Round of 16 match advances to face the winner of the clash between the runners-up from Pools A and E.

Those pools contain New Zealand and Australia in Pool A, with France and Japan heading Pool E.

If the leading seeds perform as expected, that could leave Australia v Japan in the Round of 16 – with England then facing the winner in the quarter-final.

That potentially gives Borthwick's men a route to the World Cup semi-final without facing South Africa, New Zealand, France, Ireland or Argentina.

Semi-final – Ireland or Argentina?

England's first meeting with another genuine tournament heavyweight could therefore be delayed until the last four.

If the competition follows its seedings, Argentina and Ireland would meet in the quarter-final on England's side of the draw.

That would potentially set up:

England v Ireland

in the semi-final.

Argentina are another obvious possibility should they come through that section, while Scotland could also enter the equation depending on results.

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Final – the giants await

Only then might England have to confront one of the biggest favourites from the opposite half of the draw.

The structure has placed South Africa, New Zealand and France on the other side of England's projected route, meaning those heavyweight contenders could eliminate one another before the final.

If every pool winner and the leading seeds progressed as expected, one projected route would therefore be:

Warm-ups: Ireland, France, Italy
Pool: Tonga → Zimbabwe → Wales
Round of 16: Italy
Quarter-final: Australia
Semi-final: Ireland
Final: South Africa

There will inevitably be shocks between now and November 2027, but on paper at least, England have been handed an outstanding opportunity.

Three heavyweight warm-up Tests should ensure they arrive battle-hardened – before potentially embarking on one of the more favourable routes to a Rugby World Cup final.