"Routine" - England get straightforward pool for expanded 2027 Rugby World Cup

Friday, 19 January 2024 at 16:38

byRugby Rucker

The Rugby World Cup 2027 draw is scheduled to occur in January 2026, providing a unique scenario with a full two years of international competition still to unfold.

This early draw will utilise the World Rankings as of the conclusion of November 2025 to determine the seeding of participating teams.

During the draw, the 24 participating teams will be divided into six pools, each consisting of four teams. Notably, this draw will transpire before the regional qualifiers have concluded, resulting in a dual-world approach.

On one side, we have the twelve automatic qualifiers from the 2023 Rugby World Cup, confirmed by their names. On the other side, the regional qualifiers will be represented as Africa 1, Europe 1, Europe 2, and so forth.

Rugby World Cup 2027 is set to be hosted in Australia, marking the eleventh edition of the Men's Rugby World Cup and the third time it will take place in Australia. The country previously co-hosted the inaugural Rugby World Cup with New Zealand in 1987 and served as the sole host in 2003.

With the current World Rankings in mind, let's delve into how the 2027 Rugby World Cup will shape up via Rugby Centre.

2027 Rugby World Cup draw (Current rankings)

POOL A

South Africa
Australia
Portugal
Spain

POOL B

France
Fiji
Tonga
Chile

Antoine Dupont of France during the Guinness Six Nations match between England and France at Twickenham Stadium, Twickenham, London on Saturday 11th March 2023 | Photo: James Fearn/PPAUK.

POOL C

New Zealand
Argentina
Georgia
Romania

POOL D

England
Italy
Uruguay
Canada

Marcus Smith of England during the England World Cup Squad Announcement at Twickenham Stadium, London on Monday 7th August 2023 (Photo: George Beck/PPAUK)