In 2010 Wales were drawn in the ‘Group of Death’ where they faced New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. Despite giving a brave account of themselves, Wales were unable to win a pool match and eventually finished ninth after gaining revenge over South Africa in the play-offs.
The much-awaited draw for 2014 took place in the Hotel de Ville in Paris today, and created some mouth-watering clashes for next August.
Wales Women head coach Rhys Edwards watched the draw with anticipation and is satisfied with the outcome.
“I’m happy to have avoided England and New Zealand because they are obviously the top two teams in the world at the moment. The draw has been a long time coming so it’s nice to know now who we are playing. Up until this point everything has been hypothetical but now we can give France, South Africa and Australia our full attention.
“France at home is going to be a huge challenge but we will be looking to next year’s Six Nations as a springboard for the World Cup. We are in a healthy position at the moment as we have genuine competition for places right across the team so there are no guaranteed starts – that has been our downfall in the past.”
In Pool B, defending champions New Zealand will face tough clashes against USA and Ireland as well as Asian qualifiers Kazakhstan as they attempt to win a fifth successive title.
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014 will take place in Paris from August 1-17. The pool stages will take place at FFR Marcoussis, with the semi-finals and final being played at Stade Jean Bouin.
2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup draw
Pool A – England, Canada, Spain, Samoa
Pool B – New Zealand, USA, Ireland, Kazakhastan
Pool C – Australia, France, Wales, South Africa
