Wales are seeded 8th this year, but as a result of falling outside the top eight teams in the world when the draw was made for RWC 2015, Warren Gatland’s men were ninth seeds when the balls dropped. Wales were dumped in the dreaded ‘group of death’ alongside hosts England, former world champions Australia and Fiji, who were no strangers to upsetting the Welsh in the World Cup, and minnows Uruguay.
History shows Wales finished the pool phase in second place behind Australia, after Gatland’s men ended England hopes at Twickeham with a stunning, but narrow, 25-28 victory.
Five penalties by Bernard Foley was enough for the Wallabies to beat Wales 15-6 at RFU headquarters in the pool decider which meant the men in red faced another former champion – South Africa – in the quarter-finals. After a titanic struggle, the Springboks jettisoned Wales with a 23-19 victory.
A couple of years on, and the draw should be kinder to Wales, courtesy of victory against Ireland in the 2017 RBS 6 Nations, which meant Gatland’s side finished eighth in the pecking order when the cut-off date for seedings were determined.
Welsh fans will be hoping to avoid undisputed world champions (and top seeds) New Zealand from Tier 1 with England, Australia and Ireland also in the mix. Steve Hansen’s All Blacks are gunning for a third successive shot at the Webb Ellis Trophy and it would be a brave man to bet against them from making it a hat-trick.
As Wales are in Tier 2, they will not face either Scotland, France or, South Africa but there is a dangerous proposition in Tier 3 where Argentina will fancy their chances. The Pumas were outstanding in the last World Cup with their victory against Ireland at the Millennium Stadium a highlight of the tournament.
Added to the teams already confirmed, teams like Fiji and Tonga are yet to qualify and their possible presence among the lower bands will leave some coaches looking anxiously over their shoulders as the pools become clearer.
Seedings for Wednesday’s Rugby World Cup draw in Japan (team’s ranking in brackets):
Band One: New Zealand (1), 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)
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.
The draw will be streamed live on www.rugbyworldcup.com as on the @rugbyworldcup facebook and twitter channels
