Rugby World Cup draw live: England drawn against France and Argentina in 'Pool of Death' for Japan 2019
Follow the latest from the 2019 Rugby World Cup draw
The pool draw for the 2019 Rugby World Cup takes place on Wednesday morning where 12 confirmed teams will find out who they will face in Japan in two years’ time, while the other eight places will be allocated ahead of the remaining qualifiers. Follow the latest here.
Full draw:
- Pool A: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Europe 1, Play-off winner
- Pool B: New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Africa 1, Repechage winner
- Pool C: England, France, Argentina, Americas 1, Oceania 2
- Pool D: Australia, Wales, Georgia, Oceania 1, Americas 2
Follow the live draw below...
Less than two years since New Zealand lifted the Webb Ellis Cup at Twickenham following the All Blacks’ victory over rivals Australia, the first step towards the next global gathering will be taken as Japan prepares to host the tournament for the first time.
After the attention that the 2015 draw attracted courtesy of the infamous ‘Pool of Death’ that put paid to England’s chances, all eyes will be on the draw in Kyoto despite the imminent arrival of the end of the domestic season, the British and Irish Lions tour and the summer international Tests.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2019 Rugby World Cup draw.
When is it?
The 2019 Rugby World Cup draw takes place on Wednesday 10 May at 9am BST [5pm local time] at the Kyoto State Guest House in Japan.
Where can I watch it?
The draw will be shown live on www.rugbyworldcup.com. You can also follow the draw live with The Independent on this article from 8.30am.
Who’s in it?
12 teams have already qualified for the World Cup by virtue of finishing in the top three of their pool at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. They are:
Argentina
Australia
England
France
Georgia
Ireland
Italy
Japan
New Zealand
Scotland
South Africa
Wales
The remaining eight teams will be determined via the global qualification tournaments, with the likes of Fiji and Samoa already on course to qualify. Here’s a full explanation on how the rest of the eight nations will reach the World Cup.
How will the draw work?
The pool stage will be made up of four pools of five teams. The 12 qualified nations will be split into three bands of four countries based on the World Rugby rankings, with a team from each band then being drawn into one of the four pools. The remaining eight slots will be divided into two other bands, with all 20 allotted places being drawn out. Team in the same band cannot play each other, meaning that England will avoid New Zealand, Australia and Ireland until the quarter-finals at least.
Band 1: New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland
Band 2: Scotland, Wales, South Africa, France
Band 3: Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Italy
How do I buy tickets?
World Rugby will announce ticket information closer towards the tournament.
Beaumont leaves the stage, and the Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, takes his place to welcome the rugby world to his country.
Australian head coach Michael Cheika looks to having a bit of trouble with the translation device given that Prime Minister Abe is speaking in Japanaese, and the Aussie's translator doesn't appear to be working...
Prime Minister Abe cracks a few jokes that get a laugh or two during his rather lengthy speech, but his message is clear: Japan is ready to host the Rugby World Cup, and ready to welcome everyone from across the globe in two years' time for what will be a success.
Time for another montage, with a quick video to tell us "what the Rugby World Cup is all about."
It's a trip down memory lane...
The likes of John Earles, Jonny Wilkinson and Richie McCaw feature at the start of the clip winning the Rugby World Cup. Japan's win over the Springboks also gets a showing, along with the crazy celebrations that followed.
A quick reminder of how the draw will work:
12 teams have already qualified as seeds, and have been split into three bands that you can see above depending on their World Rugby rankings.
One team from each band will go into one of the four pools, with the remaining eight places to be decided by the remaining Rugby World Cup qualifying matches, giving us five teams in each pool.
Teams in the same band cannot play each other before the quarter-finals.
We're still going through the admin here, with the rankings and the global qualification procedure being explained by Alex Payne. We're going to get there soon, I promise...
Prime Minister Abe will return to the stage for the draw, along a number of Japanese politicians and ex-sports athletes, and also New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen. We'll keep an eye on the Kiwi...
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