While Wales find themselves among the top four seeds of the 12 automatic qualifiers for , host nation France were in band two — rather than enjoying the band one status they would have had based on current rankings — while Scotland and Argentina moved from band two to band three. They will feel slightly hard done by then that they wound up with New Zealand in their group and South Africa as most likely quarter-finals opponents.
Wales on the other hand should be relatively pleased to have drawn the familiar looking Australia and Fiji and they could face Japan in the quarter-finals should they top their pool. Eddie Jones has warned the fresh faces in the England squad not to get ahead of themselves after his team were drawn with Japan, Argentina and one of Samoa and Tonga for the Rugby World Cup in France.
And we are going through a rebuilding phase at the moment. We have had a fairly mature side for the last four seasons, and the Lions [tour next summer] will help us evolve [while a shadow England team go to North America].
England and Wales could meet in the quarter-finals but they both avoided the fast-improving hosts France, who were in the second batch of seeds and drew New Zealand from the top tier, while Ireland and Scotland will meet for the second World Cup running, as well as facing holders South Africa in the pool. World Cup organisers said the draw was conducted almost three years ahead of time to help ensure they sell 2. We are asking footballers and our rugby players to play back-to-back seasons with no pre-season.
Want to talk all things rugby union from Sixways to the Six Nations? Log In. Contact us Sign up for newsletters. Log In Register now My account. Rugby Union. They will field a shadow side , captained by a player coming back from absence due to family affairs. That man is, however, the 6ft 8in second-row Sam Whitelock , all caps and two World Cup wins of him.
Sam Cane , the outstanding flanker who succeeded the great Richie McCaw , will sit on the bench, a cap hooker, Dane Coles, and Beauden Barrett, a fly-half twice world player of the year, riding the pine beside him. The Americans face a truly daunting task. When it comes to World Cup bids, Japan has shown how things can go right. After hosting rights for were won, a professional league had time to bed in and grow. In the Brave Blossoms beat South Africa.
In their own World Cup they made the knockout rounds. The first tournament held outside the traditional powers proved a resounding success. The US has much further to go.
There is also, if rather lost in its sporting past, a tale which shows how things might yet go rather wrong. In , a team of English cricketers mounted an American tour. Their aim was simple: to establish their game in America. It probably did. US rugby fans and the rest of the oval world will be watching the Americans facing the haka — and those cheering them on from the stands.
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