Nothing much has gone right for England this autumn but there will have been a few sighs of relief at Twickenham this afternoon when the 2003 World Cup winners avoided any of the Tri-Nations teams in the pool draw for the competition in New Zealand in 2011. Instead, England and Scotland have been drawn in the same pool as Argentina, the country currently ranked No4 in the world.
New Zealand, of course, will be overwhelming favourites to win their own tournament and England, who have never failed to reach the last eight, are on course to meet the All Blacks in the quarter-finals if they fail to win their pool. Martin Johnson's side will be paired with another European country to emerge from qualifying and a play-off winner.
Wales, celebrating their victory over Australia last weekend, have been drawn with reigning world champions South Africa, and Fiji, the team that knocked them out of last year's World Cup. That defeat in Nantes in one of the most memorable games of last year's tournament resulted in the ditching of Wales's coach Gareth Jenkins the following day and a coaching revolution which brought in the New Zealander Warren Gatland who last spring masterminded Wales's second grand slam in three years. Wales are currently the leading side in Europe but their World Cup record is poor since they reached the semi-finals against the odds in 1987.
Ireland are pooled with Australia, Italy, a European side and a side from the Americas. Ireland will be happy to avoid their nemesis Argentina who knocked them out of the World Cup last year. There is bad blood between the sides which spilled over when the teams met in Dublin last month, a scrappy game that the Irish won in a rare victory for the northern hemisphere in the last month.
France will be unhappy at being in the pool with the All Blacks, the country that beat them in the first World Cup final in 1987. It is the only time the All Blacks have won the trophy and France have memorably knocked them out of two World Cups at Twickenham in 1999 and at Cardiff last autumn. Graham Henry then became the first All Blacks coach to survive after failing to win the World Cup.
Oddly, none of the coaches of last year's World Cup semi-finalists are still in charge of their countries while Henry has thrived, leading the All Blacks to a victory in the Tri-Nations and to a grand slam of wins on tour in Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England, four games in which New Zealand have failed to concede a try and in which they have confirmed their status as the world's leading rugby nation. Failing to win in 2011, of course, would be unthinkable.
Groups for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
Pool A: New Zealand, France, Tonga, Americas 1, Asia 1
Pool B: Argentina, England, Scotland, Europe 1, Play-off winner
Pool C: Australia, Ireland, Italy, Europe 2, Americas 2
Pool D: South Africa, Wales, Fiji, Oceania 1, Africa 1
