That's all for now ...
We’ve brought you the draw, some reaction and now here’s a report on a busy evening in the Kyoto State Guest House, where assorted Japanese dignitaries gave every indication that the Rugby World Cup’s first visit to Asia is going to be a huge success. For more information on the tournament and the possibility of bagging yourselves some tickets you can visit the tournament’s official website. Otherwise, we’ll see you back here in 28 months!
The Guardian's Gerard Meagher writes ...
“If they win their group England will probably play Australia or Wales in the quarter-finals,” he says. “If they progress even further, they would most likely play New Zealand in semis.”
And in Wales ...
Wales will meet Australia and Georgia in Pool D and former Wales wing Shane Williams installed Australia as favourites to top Pool D, but insisted Warren Gatland’s side must be happy with their draw. “It’s not a bad group I’d think,” he said. “Georgia have been improving of late. Realistically it’s a group where Australia will be favourites, but Wales can do well there and we have to be optimistic.”
Meanwhile in the Ireland camp ...
Watching the draw, Ireland No8 Jamie Heaslip was very pleased with a draw that pitted his country against Scotland and hosts Japan.
“Getting to avoid South Africa, France and Wales, that’s a big thing for us,” he said at a Land Rover event in London, screening the draw from Kyoto. We’re happy with it, there’s some tougher groups, but when you’ve seen what Japan have done in the last 18 months and Scotland we’ve struggled with as well. It’s an exciting group for us, and I’d say Joe (Schmidt) is already starting his planning.”
Reaction to England's draw ...
James Haskell has insisted England will adopt a phlegmatic approach to staring down the Rugby World Cup 2019 pool of death, according to PA Sport. England face arguably the toughest World Cup pool for the second tournament in succession, having been drawn alongside France and Argentina in Pool C for the 2019 competition in Japan.
England became the worst-performing hosts in World Cup history in 2015 by failing to qualify from their pool containing Wales and Australia. But Wasps flanker Haskell insists England under Eddie Jones can handle the hype of another severely testing draw.
“If you want to be the best team in the world then you’ve got to beat all the best teams,” he said. “I’d love to see the simplest pool in the world, but it never works out that way. You’ve just got to beat whoever’s in front of you on the day. Eddie Jones’ team out there will literally just look at the first game. I’m also a believer that the form going into a tournament doesn’t really matter because what counts is what you do once you get there.
“Eddie Jones will be very matter of fact, he wants us to be the best team in the world. For the World Cup his mind is already on that, doing that in the right way. He’s already coming up with weird and wonderful ways to make us fitter and fitter. He tells us that a World Cup is a life-defining moment. If you can’t put your body on the line for that, then you’re really in the wrong game.”
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Some reaction from below the line ...
The winner of Oceania qualifying is going to be the big thing now. Samoa or Fiji (probably not Tonga) could beat Australia or Wales and turn that into a pool of death as well, while the Oceania 2 team has to play against England, France and Argentina.
Great that the farcical residency qualification has been increased to 5 years but why only come into effect in 2021??!!
Harry from Amsterdam writes ...
“Does England’s Pool C qualify as a group of death?” he inquires from the Dutch rugby stronghold. “We have been placed with the Band 3 team head and shoulders above the rest (Argentina), and thus it should make it so. Somehow though, being paired with a Home Nations side could have been more scary? Old rivalries and that. Go Japan. Will be a special tournament I’m sure.”
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Should England be wary of Argentina?
“Is anyone slightly nervous that Argentina are considered one of the lower seeds in this tournament?” writes Gareth Vaughan. “They have not had a bad tournament in recent memory. In fact is it sacrilegious to suggest that in rugby terms they are the Germany of world rugby in that even when they are rubbish for three years straight outside of World Cup years, they always come good in the tournament itself?”
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An email from Japan ...
“Great to have the Rugby World Cup draw taking place right here in Japan,” writes Guardian reader Justin Moyes. “Unfortunately 99% of the working population have just caught their second wind in their offices at 5pm and are looking forward to working overtime until around 9pm when they can catch the news highlights when they finally arrive home at around 10pm.”
Eddie Jones speaks ...
England’s head coach says his team’s two summer Tests against Argentina will be good practice for the Rugby World Cup.
Jamie Joseph speaks ...
“I think any pool we were going to get was going to be a big challenge,” says the Japan head coach. “At least now that we know who we’re going to play we can start some concrete planning.”
That pool draw in full ...
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Pool A: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Europe 1, Play-off winner
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Pool B: New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Africa 1, Repechage winner
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Pool C: England, France, Argentina, Americas 1, Oceania 2
- Pool D: Australia , Wales, Georgia, Oceania 1, Americas 2
Band 1 draw
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Pool A: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Europe 1, Play-off winner
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Pool B: New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Africa 1, Repechage winner
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Pool C: England, France, Argentina, Americas 1, Oceania 2
- Pool D: Australia , Wales, Georgia, Oceania 1, Americas 2
Band 2 draw
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Pool A: Scotland, Japan, Europe 1, Play-off winner
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Pool B: South Africa, Italy, Africa 1, Repechage winner
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Pool C: France, Argentina, Americas 1, Oceania 2
- Pool D: Wales, Georgia, Oceania 1, Americas 2
Bands 3+4 draw
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Pool A: Japan, Europe 1, Play-off winner
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Pool B: Italy, Africa 1, Repechage winner
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Pool C: Argentina, Americas 1, Oceania 2
- Pool D: Georgia, Oceania 1, Americas 2
Band 5 draw ...
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Pool A: Play-off winner
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Pool B: Repechage winner
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Pool C: Oceania 2
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Pool D: Americas 2
As hosts, Japan have been drawn in Pool A.
RWC giving Fifa a run for their money here ...
Demonstrating a weird reluctance to just pull the balls out of the tombola, the preliminaries continue with some very longwinded explanations of how this very simple process works. We’re getting there ...
Prime minister Abe ...
“Prime Minister Abe said he was more nervous about which pool Japan will be drawn in this evening than when he appeared as Super Mario at the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics ,” writes Justin McCurry. “As a fan of a country in band three, he’s right to be worried.”
Not long now ...
After a stirring montage – and who doesn’t enjoy a stirring montage, eh? – recalling Rugby World Cups passim, Alex Payne takes us through the 12 automatic qualifiers: New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, South Africa, France, Argentina, Japan, Georgia and Italy.
An email from Richard Dennis ...
“Do we not think Japan should be a 1st seed?” he asks. “One of the benefits of hosting the tournament I would have thought? Then we could have a couple of groups of death. Or is that too many?” An interesting question: how many groups of death is too many?
Meanwhile back in Kyoto, I’m not sure exactly what prime minister Abe is saying, but he seems to be getting lots of laughs. It’s difficult to imagine Theresa May getting the same reaction.
Justin McCurry writes ...
“A passable ‘konban-wa’ – or ‘good evening’ in Japanese - from Bill Beaumont,” says our Tokyo correspondent as Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe takes to the lectern to address all present.
Proceedings are under way ...
Bill Beaumont takes the stage to kick things off after being introduced by Alex Payne and Selina Sugiyama. He praises Japan’s “Brave Blossoms”, who were among the star turns at the last World Cup. “I have no doubt that Japan 2019 will ignite a love of rugby in this country,” says Bill.
The Guardian's Tokyo correspondent writes ...
“I’m in the media room at the draw,” writes Justin McCurry, our man in Tokyo. “Journalists not permitted to enter the hall where the draw will take place so I’ll have to watch it on a monitor. Typical. Light rain here in Kyoto - Eddie Jones just arrived; Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe also due to attend.”
Guardian rugby writer Gerard Meagher writes ...
“While the World Cup draw is the main event in Kyoto, the World Rugby council has already voted to extend the period of residency required to represent a nation from three years to five,” he reveals. “Unanimously too, which is a bit of a surprise. It will not come into force until 2021 (31 December 2020 to be precise) which leaves just shy of eight months to stock up on Project Players. James Lowe, an uncapped Kiwi winger who arrives at Leinster next season, would fit into that category.”
Cast of characters ...
Today’s draw will be hosted by Alex Payne and Selina Sugiyama, who will be ably assisted by Bill Beaumont (World Rugby Chairman and World Rugby Hall of Famer), Steve Hansen (head coach of defending champions New Zealand), Saori Yoshida (champion wrestler and one of Japan’s greatest Olympians) and Yoshihiro Sakata (Japan rugby legend and World Rugby Hall of Famer). The following head coaches of assorting participating nations will also be on hand to give their verdicts on the draw.
- Argentina – Daniel Hourcade
- Australia – Michael Cheika
- England – Eddie Jones
- France – Guy Novès
- Georgia – Milton Haig
- Ireland – Joe Schmidt
- Italy – Conor O’Shea
- Japan – Jamie Joseph
- New Zealand – Steve Hansen
- Scotland – Scott Johnson (SRU Director of Performance)
- South Africa – Allister Coetzee
- Wales – Warren Gatland
Just 28 months to go ...
The draw for the 2019 Rugby World Cup takes place in the famous Kyoto State Guest House today and we’ll bring you all the news and reaction as it unfolds. So before we discover if England are drawn in another Pool of Death that could result in similar embarrassment to that they suffered on the back of their early exit from their own tournament in 2015, here’s how the draw will work ...
Twelve teams have qualified and are split into three bands by world ranking. Eight further teams are still to qualify and will slot into allocated spots. The finals will take place from 20 September to 2 November 2019, with the opening match in Tokyo and the final in Yokohama.
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Band one: New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland
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Band two: Scotland, Wales, South Africa, France
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Band three: Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Italy
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Band four: Oceania 1, AMericas 1, Europe 1, Africa 1
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Band five: Oceania 2, Americas 2, Play-off winner between Europe 2 and Oceania 3, Repechage winner
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Tough opponents but if England deserve to be world number 2 with genuine ambitions for the top spot they should be able to progress from that group. Argentina more dangerous than France in my humble opinion.