2015 RWC draw today

[Richard]

Scotland will struggle to get out of their pool again

[BJ.]

Scotland will struggle to get out of their pool again

Scotland would struggle to get out of a paddling pool!

[mol2]

Am I alone in thinking it is bonkers to have the seedings and draw for the cup 3 years ahead?
18 months perhaps to allow hotels and flights to be booked for the match venues but 3 years when most teams are early in the rebuilding phase?

Simply silly.

It may well influence the make up of the Autumn internationals in the future.
With hindsight would England have picked the top 3 sides rather than perhaps Argentina or Samoa?

[SimonP in Surrey]

As an Englishman.... I will take this draw.

If we can squueze past Wales and Aus in a tight group of death .. the by my analysis we get Scotland or Samoa in the QF3 then either France or Argies in SF2 followed by NZ in the Final ....

[seaweed]

Any one know when the tickets go on sale ?

[chinnjamie]

You can pretty much guarantee Fiji in group A too.

[yellow_balaclava_hunter]

Sorry but after the World Cup venue decision I am struggling to support England and would find it to be very funny if England went out at the group stage.

I do agree though that the draw has been completed far too early as everything will have changed by the time of the World Cup, Wales certainly won't be a third seed nation by then and Argentina could well have made up ground having got used to playing in the Southern Hemisphere tournament.

[Isambard]

Ho ho ho it is a mad world we live in. Rowlocks all round. Purple kits all round.

[Bill W (2)]

To win the WC all that is necessary is that you win all the games.

It was ever thus be the opposition NZ, SA or Outer Mongolia!

[youngtiger]

If so, would that mean England (the host nation) would have to travel to Cardiff to play Wales?

The WRU have made an appeal to have both the Australia AND the England match played at the Millenium stadium. Can't help but hope that they're told that they can shove their appeal into the sun-less abyss.

[kingol22]

It would be crazy to agree to play them at the millennium, this is our home tournament so i can not see us giving up that advantage for what will be a key pool game.

[Cardiff Tig]

It would be crazy to agree to play them at the millennium, this is our home tournament so i can not see us giving up that advantage for what will be a key pool game.

The only way the RFU benefit from having the Millenium stadium is that the Welsh games will sell out in Cardiff compared to somewhere like Newcastle, which won't get the same Welsh support, therefore they get more money. However, when they play England the game is going to sell out anywhere it is held, therefore the RFU should pick the biggest stadium (i.e. Twickenham (not counting Wembley!)) to maximise profits!

On a purely rugby sense I think the England games should be spread aroung the country - but that means in England, not playing their games in Cardiff ,although it would make my life so much easier if they did!!

[tigerburnie]

I saw posted elsewhere that tradition has it that the host usually open their world cup with a game against their strongest rival in their group, at the venue that holds the final. So that means the WC should kickoff with England v Australia at Twickers.
I do however agree with the Welsh that the game should be played at the best ground available(I'm too modest to call it the best ground in the world). So with that dreadfull surface that is laughingly called a pitch in Cardiff, the game is bound to be played at Twickenham. The millenium might have a nice roof,but the game is played on the grass, not the roof.

[Ads677]

I saw posted elsewhere that tradition has it that the host usually open their world cup with a game against their strongest rival in their group, at the venue that holds the final. So that means the WC should kickoff with England v Australia at Twickers.
I do however agree with the Welsh that the game should be played at the best ground available(I'm too modest to call it the best ground in the world). So with that dreadfull surface that is laughingly called a pitch in Cardiff, the game is bound to be played at Twickenham. The millenium might have a nice roof,but the game is played on the grass, not the roof.

Quite right, plus, the Millenium Stadium's capacity is exceeded by Twickenham's by around 7,500. Coincidentally, this is about the difference between Welford Road and the King Power Stadium and therefore, since stadium capacity is all, I presume that Twickenham HAVE to be awarded this game because that will generate greater revenue.

[Rinzler]

I saw posted elsewhere that tradition has it that the host usually open their world cup with a game against their strongest rival in their group, at the venue that holds the final. So that means the WC should kickoff with England v Australia at Twickers.
I do however agree with the Welsh that the game should be played at the best ground available(I'm too modest to call it the best ground in the world). So with that dreadfull surface that is laughingly called a pitch in Cardiff, the game is bound to be played at Twickenham. The millenium might have a nice roof,but the game is played on the grass, not the roof.

Tigerburnie, I do agree with your comments, but traditionally the tournament opener is played against 'one' of the strongest group rivals, usually the 3rd tier seeds. In 2011 this was New Zealand vs Tonga (not France), in 2007 this was France vs Argentina (not Ireland)and in 2003 it was Australia vs Argentina (again not Ireland). Based on this trend, England vs Wales would probably be the opener at Twickenham regardless of where the WRU want the game to be played.