England's route to 2027 Rugby World Cup final after learning pool opponents for tournament in Australia
Updated 03/12/2025 at 13:38 GMT
The pools for the 2027 Rugby World Cup have been announced, with Steve Borthwick's England side facing Wales in Pool F. Ireland and Scotland are set to clash in Pool D, and a blockbuster match between Australia and New Zealand takes place in Pool A. Teams can now chart a potential route from the groups to the final, so who could England face en route to potential Rugby World glory?
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The draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup has been confirmed with plenty of tantalising match-ups awaiting in the group stage in Australia.
The hosts will face trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in Pool A, while Ireland and Scotland meet in the pool stage for a third-successive tournament after both going into Pool D.
For the first time since 2015, England and Wales are in a World Cup group together in Pool F.
The 2027 edition of the tournament is the first to feature 24 teams, with an expanded round of 16 this time around.
How does qualification for the knockout stages work?
There will be 16 teams progressing from the group stage: the top two from each group and the four best third-placed teams.
Teams that finish first in Pools A, B, C and D will face one of the four best third place finishers from other groups.
Pool E and F winners will play the runners-up from Pools D and B respectively.
The runners-up from Pools A and C will take on the runners-up from Pools E and F.
Pool A's winner will face a third-place team in the round-of-16, but could face Pool B's winner in the quarter-finals.
The Pool E winner will face a runner-up in both the round-of-16 and the quarter-finals.
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2027 Rugby World Cup path to the final.
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Who could England face in the knockout stages?
With Wales, Tonga, and Zimbabwe alongside them in Pool F, England are currently a good bet to top their group.
Wales fans will be eager to remind English supporters what happened last time they shared a World Cup group in 2015. But the Welsh are far from the side they were a decade ago and Steve Borthwick's side are on the up.
If England finish first in Pool F, they will face the runner-up in Pool B, which is likely to be Italy or Georgia. Many would expect the Italians to take second, and Georgia to finish third.
Either opponent in the round-of-16 would be ideal for England, who have never lost to the Azzuri or the Lelos.
The chances of South Africa finishing second are incredibly slim, but Italy did beat the Springboks for the first time in 2016.
After that, England would face the runner-up from either Pool A or Pool E.
Pool A will be hotly contested between hosts Australia and New Zealand, who have only ever lost one group game at the World Cup, to France in 2023.
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It is likely that Australia finish second, meaning a blockbuster quarter-final clash with England. The two faced each other at the quarter-final stage in 2019, with England thrashing the Wallabies 40-16.
The other possibility would be facing the runner-up from Pool E if Australia slip up in their round-of-16 clash.
Pool E is made up of France, Japan, USA, and Samoa. Assuming Les Bleus manage to finish first, all three remaining teams have a good chance of taking second.
Should England make it to the semi-finals, then they will likely face either the winner of Pool C or Pool D.
The top candidates for those group winners are Argentina from the former, and Ireland or Scotland from the latter.
Should the remaining groups go as expected and England win in the semi-final, then a potential final could see them face one of South Africa, New Zealand or France.
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What about defending champions South Africa?
On paper, South Africa have one of the simplest routes to the knockout stages after being drawn in Pool B, alongside Italy, Georgia and Romania.
If they top the group as expected, they will face a third-place team from Pool D, E, or F in the round-of-16.
Likely candidates are either Scotland or Uruguay from Pool D; Japan, USA or Samoa from Pool E; or Wales or Tonga from Pool F.
After that, their comparatively easy run ends as they are likely to face the winner from Pool A, who will be either New Zealand or Australia, but probably the All Blacks.
A clash with the Pool E winner in the semi-finals is then probable, and that means a mouthwatering match against France.
If they make it to their third consecutive World Cup final, the Springboks could potentially come up against Argentina, Ireland or England.
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