Who has your nation drawn in
Rugby World Cup France 2023 pool stage?
Rugby World Cup France 2023 Pool Groups have been drawn. Who will your nation be facing off against in the pool stage?
With Rugby World Cup France 2023 less than three years away we’ve broken the first tackle to getting there, with the drawing of RWC 2023 pool groups.
Each of the pool groups are currently are made up of three nations, with two more spots to be secured. The final two spots of each group will be made up from qualifying fixtures from nations who did not receive automatic qualification to Rugby World Cup France 2023.
How does the pool stage look for your nation? Find out more below!
RUGBY WORLD CUP DRAW: The seeding system from previous Rugby World Cups will be retained with the 12 automatic qualifiers from 2019 being allocated to their respective bands based on their RWC Rankings on 1 January 2020:
| POOLA | POOL B | POOL C | POOL D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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|
|
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TOP 10 RUGBY WORLD CUP RANKING
(as of January 2020)
1 |  | South Africa | 94.20 |
2 |  | New Zealand | 91.12 |
3 |  | England | 88.42 |
4 |  | Ireland | 84.92 |
5 |  | Australia | 82.91 |
6 |  | France | 82.74 |
7 |  | Wales | 82.65 |
8 |  | Scotland | 80.69 |
9 |  | Japan | 79.29 |
10 |  | Argentina | 78.31 |
RWC 2023 DRAW
The seeding system from previous Rugby World Cups will be retained with the 12 automatic qualifiers from 2019 being allocated to their respective bands based on their RWC Rankings on 1 January 2020:
| Pool A |
| New Zealand |
| France |
| Italy |
| Americas 1 |
| Africa 1 |
| Pool B |
| South Africa |
| Ireland |
| Scotland |
| Asia / Pacific 1 |
| Europe 2 |
| Pool C |
| Wales |
| Australia |
| Fiji |
| Europe 1 |
| Final Qualifier Winner |
| Pool D |
| England |
| Japan |
| Argentina |
| Samoa |
| Americas 2 |
TOP 10 RUGBY WORLD CUP RANKING
(as of January 2020)
1 | | South Africa | 94.20 |
2 | | New Zealand | 91.12 |
3 | | England | 88.42 |
4 | | Ireland | 84.92 |
5 | | Australia | 82.91 |
6 | | France | 82.74 |
7 | 🏴 | Wales | 82.65 |
8 | | Scotland | 80.69 |
9 | | Japan | 79.29 |
10 | | Argentina | 78.31 |
Which teams are involved?
There are a total of 20 teams competing in the 2023 edition of Rugby World Cup across four pools, meaning five teams per pool.
The top three teams in each pool from the previous Rugby World Cup gained automatic qualification.
This means that Australia, along with 11 other teams already secured trips to France.
You will notice vacant spots currently in pools, eight to be exact. These spots are still up for grabs with regional qualifications still to take place.
How does the Rugby World Cup draw work?
For anyone wondering how the draw works – each team or qualifying slot are divided up into five bands.
These bands are based on ‘seeding’, which, due to a Covid-19 interrupted International Rugby fixture in 2020, bands were determined based on nations’ rankings as of 1st January, 2020.
Each pool have one team allocated from each band, selected at random, leading to the five teams per pool.
The draw started with Band 5, working its way up to the climax of Band 1, where the top seeded teams learned their fate.
How does the pool stage look for Australia?
Who will Australia play during the pool stages in the RWC 2023? Now we know.
Australia has drawn Pool C with Wales, Fiji, Europe 1 and the final qualifier winner.
It means Australia will face Wales in the pool stage for the third consecutive edition of Rugby World Cup – with each side taking away a victory each.
Australia and Wales also lined up against Fiji in Japan in 2019, with both scoring wins against a strong Pacific island nation.
Wales will, of course, cast their minds back to the 2007 edition of Rugby World Cup, where Fiji defeated them in the pool stage 38-34 in an iconic upset.
All three teams will fancy their chances of progression, but they may again be joined by Georgia, a side who will compete fiercely on the largest stage.
The draw has thrown up additional mouth-watering match-ups, with New Zealand meeting their bogey side and hosts, France, in Pool A.
Reigning Web Ellis Cup holders, South Africa, will face Ireland and Scotland, both teams looking to progress further in France 2023.
Pool D rounds out with England, Japan, and Argentina. There will be plenty of keen eyes on the Japanese side, seeing if they can continue moments of brilliance from the previous two editions of RWC.
Keen rugby fans will already be selecting the pool matches they’d love to attend in three years’ time and potentially running scenarios of knock-out stage clashes.
It’s safe to assume Santa will have a few additional requests this year.
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