England to face Wales in group stage at 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup

The two nations were both named in Pool F for the expanded tournament in Australia, which for the first time will feature 24 teams.

England and Wales are joined by Tonga and Zimbabwe, while Ireland and Scotland will meet in Pool D along with Uruguay and Portugal.

Wales famously beat England at the same stage of the 2015 World Cup to push the hosts towards elimination, and head coach Steve Tandy said: “It’s just exciting.

“Obviously, going to the World Cup, seeing the draw, different format, with smaller groups, just can’t wait to get started. I know it’s two years away but the excitement builds straight away.

“Those big games against England are always massive and being in the World Cup they seem bigger.

“But Tonga and Zimbabwe pose different challenges as well. So, I think, overall, just unbelievably exciting and obviously, the England game, most people will focus on.”

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Hosts Australia missed out on being among the top six teams in pot one and paid the price when they were paired with rivals New Zealand in Pool A.

Debutants Hong Kong face a baptism of fire in the same group along with Chile, while two-time defending champions South Africa are in Pool B with Italy, Georgia and Romania.

France head Pool E, which also includes Japan, while Argentina and Fiji are in Pool C.

The tournament will take place from October 1 to November 13. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the knockout stages along with the four highest-ranked third-placed teams.

Wales were eliminated at the quarter-final stage two years ago and have endured a miserable recent run, with their only victories this year coming against Japan.

Tandy, though, is confident Wales will be in a much more positive place come the start of the tournament in nearly two years’ time.

“Definitely,” he said. “And I think, like I said after every game, apart from probably the one at the weekend, there’s always something to take from it.

“And I think the age of the group, they need to experience different things and throughout the campaign I do believe there’s been growth.

“It’s making sure we learn and adapt from that and obviously building through different experiences, then look at the summer tour coming up and obviously Six Nations, just making sure incrementally we’re getting better and then, when we get to the World Cup, we’re a much better team than we are now.”