England and Wales drawn in Pool F alongside Zimbabwe and Tonga
Ireland and Scotland drawn in Pool D with Uruguay and Portugal
Hosts Australia to face three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A, with Hong Kong China and Chile making up the rest of the group
The tournament takes place in Australia on 1 October – 13 November 2027 and will feature 24 teams
Teams are seeded from one to 24 based on their current world rankings and then placed into six bands of four teams
Australia are guaranteed to be in Pool A as hosts but will face a top seeded team as they are not in the top six of the world rankings
The draw takes place so early for a number of reasons, including to help fans make travel arrangements, give the organisers time to stage a successful tournament and reflect current form and rankings
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Written by Ben Ramsdale, Craig Nelson & Sean Byrne.
That's a wrap!
Thank you for joining us this morning as we brought you the draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Here are the key talking points from today's live page:
We'll see you soon. Enjoy the rest of your day!
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The group stages will have maybe 3 pivotal games. Australia v All Blacks, Fiji v Argentina and Scotland v Ireland. 3 groups look formalities for the seed (England, France, South Africa). Interest could be the battles for 2nd and 3rd places. Italy v Georgia & Japan, Samoa and USA.
Nick, Bristol
James Slipper
Former Australian Rugby Union player
Home support will be very important. I never had the opportunity to do it, but that is a huge opportunity for this Wallabies group. Dealing with the pressure of a home World Cup, that will be telling. I'm really excited.
Dan Carter
Two-time Rugby World Cup winner with All Blacks
For me, the dark horses are Tonga. They will really back themselves against everyone in that pool and push through into that tournament.
Good question, Adrian.
Not for a while yet, though.
The full match schedule will be announced on 3 February 2026, with pre-sale tickets for registered fans available from 18 February.
It's worth noting also that some venues are yet to be confirmed.
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When do we find out who is playing at which venue?
Adrian, Scotland
You can tie yourselves in knots trying to plot a path to the final, but if the tournament plays to current rankings (they rarely do) then there will be some interesting match-ups from the quarter-finals onwards.
In this scenario, England would have to beat hosts Australia in the last eight and Ireland in the semi-finals, before taking on defending champions and current world number ones South Africa in the final.
But will South Africa make it past the quarters, where they could well face the All Blacks?
It's a conversation that will run and run for the next 20 months, before the World Cup kicks off on 01 October 2027.
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Unpopular opinion, Australia beat New Zealand and win Group A
Sam, IpswichJames Slipper
Former Australian Rugby Union player
South Africa have won the last two and are clearly number one at the moment in world rugby. Regardless of any team they play, they're going to have their hands full. There's quite a good few match-ups in their group. Quite a few scrums in that pool!
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Typical England, already talking about the later stages of the tournament. You just focus on the Pool first… Remember what happened last time you played Wales in a World Cup
Cam in Wales
Gareth Rhys Owen
BBC Radio Wales commentator
Wales will be quietly satisfied with their World Cup draw, with one huge caveat: it only opens up if they finish second — and even that is based entirely on presumptions about how other pools unfold. But on paper, a last-16 against Fiji or Argentina and a quarter-final against France or Australia isn’t disastrous. Put simply: it could be worse.
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Group E feels like a group of death! France should win it but if they slip up the other 3 could all beat each other.
Andy, CheltenhamDan Carter
Two-time Rugby World Cup winner with All Blacks
Scotland will back themselves to beat any of those teams in band one. They play Ireland on a regular occasion through the Six Nations, that will be a huge game.
The winners of Scotland and Ireland's group (Pool D) will play a third-placed team from Pool B (Romania, Georgia, Italy, South Africa), Pool E (Samoa, USA, Japan, France) or Pool F (Zimbabwe, Tonga, Wales, England) in the last-16.
The runners-up, meanwhile, will play the Pool E winners, with France the top seeds in that group. Dan Carter
Two-time Rugby World Cup winner with All Blacks
It's been a disappointing couple of years for Wales, but they are such a proud rugby nation. No better way to get yourself back on the rugby circuit then by beating England at a Rugby World Cup.
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Scotland-England likely in the quarters! That's no pushover for the men in white.
Putley, Edinburgh
All this England easy draw talk is tripe. 2015 wasn't an easy draw was it? Besides it all means nothing, Ireland always underperform yet you'd be glad to miss them in your group.
Sam, Gloucestershire
Chris Jones
BBC rugby union correspondent
While England fans will be delighted at the prospect of avoiding the big guns until the semi-finals – they could avoid playing New Zealand, South Africa or France until the final – there is the very live possibility of a seismic quarter-final showdown with tournament hosts Australia, which could be incredible.
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@Paul (09:58) You're forgetting the Nations Championship next year as well! Which will be very telling as to who is where in the run up to the RWC.
Phillip, Gillingham
Winning Pool F would mean that England and Wales would probably not face world champions South Africa until the final.
In the last 16, the Pool F winners would face the runners-up from South Africa's group, which includes Romania, Georgia and Italy.
The runners-up, meanwhile, would play the runners-up in Pool C, which includes Canada, Spain, Fiji and Argentina.
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