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Rugby World Cup 2023: England and Wales among top seeds in draw for France tournament



England and Wales are among the top seeds for the 2023 Rugby World Cup draw in Paris on Monday.

Ireland are in the second band while Scotland are in the third, so could face each other, along with Wales or England in the pool stages in France.

Reigning champions South Africa and three-time winners New Zealand will be in band one with Wales and England.

Australia, Japan and hosts France join Ireland in band two, while Argentina, Fiji and Italy are in Scotland's band.

The draw for the 10th edition of rugby's showpiece tournament is scheduled to begin in Paris on Monday, 14 December at 11:15 GMT.

There is the potential for either England or Wales to be drawn in a pool alongside both Ireland and Scotland - which could make for an exciting group but would curtail British and Irish interest in the quarter-finals, as only the top two from each pool advance.

The tournament will consist of 20 teams drawn into four pools of five. Twelve nations have already qualified - the teams in the first three bands - while eight qualifiers are yet to be determined and will not be finalised until November 2022.

Band four will be made up of teams who have yet to qualify from World Rugby's Americas and Europe zones.

The fifth band will include teams who make it through regional qualifying from Africa, Oceania, Asia/Pacific, and a final qualifier winner, determined via a repechage event.

- Band 1: South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales

- Band 2: Ireland, Australia, France, Japan

- Band 3: Scotland, Argentina, Fiji, Italy

- Band 4: Americas 1, Americas 2, Europe 1, Europe 2

- Band 5: Africa 1, Oceania 1, Asia / Pacific 1, Final Qualifier Winner

The seedings that were announced in October were based on world rankings from a cut-off point in January 2020, but the RWC board has recommended the draw for future tournaments should take place no earlier than one year before the event to ensure the pools better reflect performance at the time.

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