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Tournament hosts New Zealand were drawn alongside France, the team that beat them in the quarter-finals of last year's edition, in the draw for the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup held here Monday.

Elsewhere old rivals England and Scotland were paired alongside one another in a World Cup pool for the first time during a draw which took place inside a giant inflatable rugby ball on the banks of London's River Thames.

The All Blacks and France are the two top-ranked teams in a Pool A also featuring Tonga, and qualifiers still to be determined from the Americas and Asia.

England, beaten finalists last year, and Scotland are in the same Pool B as Argentina, third-placed finishers at the 2007 World Cup and, as yet, unknown qualifiers from Europe and the winners of a global play-off competition.

Reigning champions South Africa are in a Pool D featuring Fiji and Wales, the Six Nations champions.

Australia, like the Springboks, twice world champions, have been paired in Pool C with Ireland, Italy and qualifiers from Europe and the Americas.

Should New Zealand, who've just completed a grand slam tour where they beat Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England without conceding a try, top Pool A they will face the runners-up from Pool B, potentially the most 'open' of the four qualifying groups.

"I guess there will be a fair bit of talk about the history between New Zealand and France at World Cups," said All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.

"But all the groups are pretty similar and you've got to play them all at some stage. Quarter-finals are tough, as we've found out. Anything can happen in the play-off stages."

France head coach Marc Lievremont commented: 'It's always difficult to play against New Zealand.

"I consider this an honour and an opportunity. We can reckon that we'll finish behind New Zealand. After that it's up to us to get out of the group.

"There will also be Tonga, a team always hard to judge. My concern is more Tonga, America 1 and Asia 1 (the other two rivals) rather than New Zealand."

South Africa captain John Smit said of the Springboks' draw: "Last time we were drawn against the top team from Britain - which was then England - and this time we have been drawn against Wales, who are the Six Nations champions.

"The draw has a similar feel to last time and the good thing is that we will be well tested during the competition," added Smit, who led his country to glory in a 15-6 win over England in last year's final.

"You don't want to breeze through your pool and we certainly won't have that luxury."

Scotland coach Frank Hadden said of the England clash. "Just because we play each other regularly doesn't make it any less exciting.

"We've beaten England and Argentina recently so we can go into the World Cup with some cautious optimism.

"It's an opportunity to plan for the long term, we think we've got a decent young squad who haven't reached their potential.

"We are very proud of our World Cup record of reaching every quarter-final and we feel we could have gone further this time," he said.

But Hadden re-iterated his complaint that the International Rugby Board's new ruling on player release worked against poorer nations such as Scotland.

"Countries like us feel we are going to the World Cup with one arm tied behind our backs. All we want is a level playing field rather than more preparation time for those who can afford it."

Australia breezed through their pool in France last year only to lose to England in the quarter-finals.

But Wallaby captain Stirling Mortlock predicted his men would be properly battle-hardened were they to reach the last eight in 2011.

"Having gone through the World Cup last year, you do want to have a couple of tough matches and that's certainly what we will face against Italy and Ireland," Mortlock said.

Fiji effectively knocked Wales out of last year's World Cup by beating them in a pool match in Nantes.

Also in Pool D will be qualifiers from Oceania and Africa.

As with the 2007 tournament, the top two teams from each pool will go through to the quarter-finals.

But this time the IRB's own world rankings were used to seed teams for the draw with the top four of New Zealand, Argentina, Australia and South Africa all kept apart.

In the second tier of seeds were Wales, France, England and Ireland with Scotland in a third tier also featuring Fiji, Tonga, and Italy.

Teams from the same pool won't meet each other again unless they both get to the final.

The draw was conducted by Rugby World Cup chairman Bernard Lapasset and Rugby World Cup New Zealand 2011 chairman Jock Hobbs.

Lapasset said: "For the success of the World Cup these are four extremely interesting groups.

"It's going to be qualifying matches from the first day. The teams are going to have to be extra vigilant."

Organisers hope to announce the match schedule in March.


Pool Draw

Pool A: New Zealand, France, Tonga, Americas 1, Asia 1

Pool B: Argentina, England, Scotland, Europe 1, Play-off winner

Pool C: Australia, Ireland, Italy, Europe 2, Americas 2

Pool D: South Africa, Wales, Fiji, Oceania 1, Africa 1

Quarter Final 1: Winner Pool B v Runner-up Pool A

Quarter Final 2: Winner Pool C v Runner-up Pool D

Quarter Final 3: Winner Pool A v Runner-up Pool B

Quarter Final 4: Winner Pool D v Runner-up Pool C

Semi-Final 1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF2

Semi-Final 2: Winner QF3 v Winner QF4

Third place playoff: Loser SF1 v Loser SF2

Final: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2



Bring it on!!!!!






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj9cboaps68

I believe the Tonga fixture will be the key to qualify for the next round...still...France - NZ is the game to see

^ Im with England on this one as usual , however our form is dismal. Not expecting much this tournament, but then again we said that in Australia and won!

^ England is a team of old ladies who can't make up their mind on how to play and when to play it. They've very inconsistent and they lack discipline. In the 6 Nations Tournament earlier this year, they beat France but lost to Scotland. Scotland! Lebanon can beat Scotland!!

Their Rugby is the most boring. The only interesting person on the team is Saki and that's only because he's the one that makes the game fast when he has the ball. They play with their forwards more than anything. They're very defensive, love kicking the ball, and excellent at creating rucks, pick-and-go and simply slowing the game to bore you to death.

I don't know what to think of England - dribble around the forwards and that's it: you'll score like crazy and simply destroy them.

But again, I understand they're under new management now and are rebuilding a team (just like France). This team though (as far as now) is nothing close enough to the one back in 2003.

Alain, yes my friend: France v New Zealand is going to be eye-candy!
I'm actually happy that France are playing NZ so early in the tournament - at least they'd play them (and if they lost) they'd know that they got them out of the way until potentially the final or semi final. Even if France lost to NZ in their pool match (highly likely to be realistic) and finished 2nd of the group, they'd be up against the winner of England's pool which is between England and Argentina (both teams that France can beat IF they play properly against) and can very well proceed to the semis without having to meet NZ again when loser is dumped out.

Johnny Wilkinson is a big fag who ruined rugby with his kick...

Whatever, we created the game and we own it until eternity!

^^ Exactly. A contributing factor to how dull English Rugby has become.
He's a great goal kicker - this is something I won't take away from him at all and I admire him for that (unlike Skrela, whom I admired until two weeks ago - dumbarse!!) - but seriously, would you just run? What's wrong with running into a tackle? Ronan O'Gara of Ireland is the same - just get tackled man. Screw your face, you're not that pretty!!



Argh!!! Just line-up French Rugby League against the English - the English can't even run fast enough to catch the french! lol

There you go....




Kicking.....





Kicking again...





Once more....




And again!!!





Yea.... eat some grass arsehole!! Stupid mofo!!

Oh reeeeally???

Phoenicians invented the boats...do you see us building a Queen Mary??

Chinese invented Chinese food...do you see a Chopstiks opening in Guangzhou??

British invented football and considered themselves so godlike they did not even bother playing in the world cup until 1950 where they got humiliated by a bunch of US amateurs who worked in the mines and whore-houses...

So your argument does not make too much point

Sorry to kinda drift away from the original topic, but I was watching a Rugby game with the All Blacks part of it. I have to admit, that the Haka freaked me and my girl out......

I think the haka is funny. All teams that stand against it either stare at it in bemusement (Ireland, France) or just turn away from it (England last week). It's become typical and just a show before the match starts.

But it's also putting up a challenge to the opposing team.