It might be 998 days away but the pools for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France have been revealed.<\/p>\n
20 teams will compete at the World Cup, 12 of which have already earned qualification for the event: South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales, Ireland, France, Australia, Japan, Scotland, Argentina, Fiji and Italy.<\/p>\n
In good news for the Wallabies, who entered the draw as band 2 nation, they have avoided the likes of New Zealand, England and South Africa in their group.<\/p>\n
Ninth-ranked Wales and 11th-ranked Fiji are the two toughest teams in Australia's Pool C, which coincidentally is a repeat of 2019. The Wallabies comfortably beat Fiji but lost to Wales by 4 points at last year's event.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, host nation France will be joined by the All Blacks in Pool A, while defending champions South Africa and Ireland firm as the top two outfits in Pool B.<\/p>\n
In Pool C, last year's runner-up <\/em>England will have Japan and Argentina, two nations more than capable of advancing beyond the group stages.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/rugbyworldcup\/status\/1338457591089868801<\/a><\/p>\n Pool A:<\/strong><\/p>\n New Zealand, France, Italy, America 1, Africa 1<\/p>\n Pool B:<\/strong><\/p>\n South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Asia-Pacific 1, Europe 2<\/p>\n Pool C:<\/strong><\/p>\n Wales, Australia, Fiji, Europe 1, Final, qualifier winner<\/p>\n Pool D:<\/strong><\/p>\n England, Japan, Argentina, Oceania 1, Americas 2<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChristypDoran\/status\/1338457664158748673<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/tomdecent\/status\/1338456572964421640<\/a>https:\/\/twitter.com\/JHorwill\/status\/1338459180445929473<\/a><\/p>\n Draw bands prior to the release of pools:<\/strong><\/p>\n Band 1<\/strong> – South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales<\/p>\n Band 2<\/strong> – Ireland, France, Australia, Japan<\/p>\n Band 3<\/strong> – Scotland, Argentina, Fiji and Italy<\/p>\n Band 4<\/strong> – Oceania 1, Americas 1, Europe 1, Asia \/ Pacific 1<\/p>\n Band 5<\/strong> – Africa 1, Europe 2, Americas 2, Final Qualifier Winner<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Current top 15 in the world rankings:<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. South Africa<\/p>\n 2. England<\/p>\n 3. New Zealand<\/p>\n 4. France<\/p>\n 5. Ireland<\/p>\n 6. Australia<\/p>\n 7. Scotland<\/p>\n 8. Argentina<\/p>\n 9. Wales<\/p>\n 10. Japan<\/p>\n 11. Fiji<\/p>\n 12. Georgia<\/p>\n 13. Tonga<\/p>\n 14. Italy<\/p>\n 15. Samoa<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"