Yahoo Sports When is the Rugby World Cup 2019 draw, which teams have qualified for Japan and how can I get tickets?
When and where does the draw take place?
The draw will take place from 9am on Wednedsay, May 10, in Kyoto's State Guest House.
Who is in the draw?
There will be 20 teams in the tournament and 12 of them have already qualified by virtue of finishing in the top three of their Pool at the 2015 World Cup.
They are seeded by virtue of their current world ranking, and will be split into the first three of the five bands.
They are:
Band One - New Zealand (1 in the world rankings), England (2), Australia (3), Ireland (4).
Band Two - Scotland (5), France (6), South Africa (7), Wales (8).
Band Three - Argentina (9), Japan (11), Georgia (12), Italy (15).
Rugby World Cup 2019: Team-by-team guide
The remaining eight sides will be determined through the global qualification process, which concludes in November 2018. They will be split into bands four and five.
They are:
Oceania 1, Oceania 2 (the top two teams from the 2016-17 Pacific Nations Cup between Fiji, Samoa and Tonga).
Europe 1 (the winner of the 2017-18 Rugby Europe Championship, currently led by Romania).
Americas 1 (the winner of a two-legged play-off between the USA and Canada next month).
Americas 2 (the winner of a two-legged play-off between the loser of the Americas 1 play-off and the winner of the 2017 South American Rugby Championship).
Africa 1 (the winner of the 2018 Africa Cup).
Play-off winner (the winner of a two-legged play-off between the loser of the 2016-17 Pacific Nations Cup and the second-placed team from the Rugby Europe Championship, which is currently Tonga and Spain).
Repechage winner (the winner of a knockout series between the best sides from the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Asia/Oceania play-off* that have not qualified)
They will be split into:
Band Four: Oceania 1, Americas 1, Europe 1, Africa 1
Band Five: Oceania 2, Americas 2, play-off winner (between Europe 2 and Oceania 3), repechage winner.
An England team to start the first match of Rugby World Cup 2019
How the draw works
Each Pool will consist of one team from each of the five bands. So England cannot draw any of New Zealand, Australia or Ireland, while they will draw one team from each of bands two and there, and two teams that are yet to qualify.
So no team will know every opponent yet?
No. England were drawn in the Pool of Death in December 2012 but it was only confirmed they would face Fiji in their opening game when the South Sea Islanders qualified in June 2014.
When does the tournament take place?
It starts on September 20, 2019, and ends on November 2.
What is England's best and worst case scenario?
Mick Cleary's view...
Worst case: England, France, Argentina, Fiji and Samoa
What will be known on Wednesday is the precise names of those in the three tiers of seeds. The qualifiers have yet to be finalised. France finally look to be getting their act together under Guy Noves while Argentina have been one of the most consistent performers at World Cups. The more time that the Pacific Island sides are able to spend together, the better they get and both could come through the Oceania qualifiers.
Best case: England, South Africa, Japan, plus two from the likes of Uruguay or Tonga or Romania
Wales and Scotland are in the same tier seeding as Wales and Scotland. As we have seen from the Six Nations Championship, both can cause problems. South African rugby is in a mess and although the Boks have been fierce competitors at World Cups, and have a better record than England, they need to pull themselves up by the boot straps. Japan would be a really attractive proposition because of the Eddie Jones connection.
What are the current world rankings?
What are the venues in Japan?
Sapporo Dome, Sapporo City (capacity 41,410)
Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium, Iwate Prefecture/Kamaishi City (capacity 16,187)
Kumagaya Rugby Ground, Saitama Prefecture/Kumagaya City (capacity 24,000)
New National Stadium Japan, Tokyo (capacity 80,000)
International Stadium Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture/Yokohama City (capacity 72,327)
Ogasayama Sports Park Ecopa Stadium, Shizuoka Prefecture (capacity 50,889)
Toyota Stadium, Aichi Prefecture/Toyota City (capacity 45,000)
Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Osaka Prefecture/Higashi Osaka City (capacity 30,000)
Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium, Kobe City (capacity 30,312)
Hakatanomori Football Stadium, Fukuoka City (capacity 22,563)
Kumamoto Prefectural Athletic Stadium, Kumamoto Prefecture/Kumamoto City (capacity 32,000)
Oita Stadium, Oita Prefecture (capacity 40,000)
How do I get tickets?
World Rugby has not yet announced any ticket information. But when it does, it will all be here.
