Pools confirmed for RWC 2015

With just over 1,000 days to go until Rugby World Cup 2015 kicks off in England, the Pool Allocation Draw has today taken place at an iconic London art gallery.

The 12 directly qualified teams from RWC 2011 and the eight qualification places were drawn as follows:

Pool A
Australia
England
Wales
Oceania 1
Repechage winner

Pool B
South Africa
Samoa
Scotland
Asia 1
Americas 2

Pool C
New Zealand
Argentina
Tonga
Europe 1
Africa 1

Pool D
France
Ireland
Italy
Americas 1
Europe 2

At the draw it was also confirmed that the knockout phase structure will be the same as previous Rugby World Cups:

QF1: Winner Pool B v Runner-up Pool A
QF2: Winner Pool C v Runner-up Pool D
QF3: Winner Pool A v Runner-up Pool B
QF4: Winner Pool D v Runner-up Pool C

SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF2
SF2: Winner QF3 v Winner QF4

Bronze Final: Loser SF1 v Loser SF2

Final: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2