Rugby World Cup draw live: England drawn against France and Argentina in 'Pool of Death' for Japan 2019

Follow the latest from the 2019 Rugby World Cup draw

The 2019 Rugby World Cup draw takes place in Kyoto, Japan (Getty)

The pool draw for the 2019 Rugby World Cup takes place on Wednesday morning where 12 confirmed teams will find out who they will face in Japan in two years’ time, while the other eight places will be allocated ahead of the remaining qualifiers. Follow the latest here.

Full draw:

• Pool A: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Europe 1, Play-off winner
• Pool B: New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Africa 1, Repechage winner
• Pool C: England, France, Argentina, Americas 1, Oceania 2
• Pool D: Australia, Wales, Georgia, Oceania 1, Americas 2

Follow the live draw below...

Less than two years since New Zealand lifted the Webb Ellis Cup at Twickenham following the All Blacks’ victory over rivals Australia, the first step towards the next global gathering will be taken as Japan prepares to host the tournament for the first time.

After the attention that the 2015 draw attracted courtesy of the infamous ‘Pool of Death’ that put paid to England’s chances, all eyes will be on the draw in Kyoto despite the imminent arrival of the end of the domestic season, the British and Irish Lions tour and the summer international Tests.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 2019 Rugby World Cup draw.

(Getty Images (Getty Images)

When is it?

The 2019 Rugby World Cup draw takes place on Wednesday 10 May at 9am BST [5pm local time] at the Kyoto State Guest House in Japan.

Where can I watch it?

The draw will be shown live on www.rugbyworldcup.com. You can also follow the draw live with The Independent on this article from 8.30am.

Who’s in it?

12 teams have already qualified for the World Cup by virtue of finishing in the top three of their pool at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. They are:

Argentina

Australia

England

France

Georgia

Ireland

Italy

Japan

New Zealand

Scotland

South Africa

Wales

The remaining eight teams will be determined via the global qualification tournaments, with the likes of Fiji and Samoa already on course to qualify. Here’s a full explanation on how the rest of the eight nations will reach the World Cup.

How will the draw work?

The pool stage will be made up of four pools of five teams. The 12 qualified nations will be split into three bands of four countries based on the World Rugby rankings, with a team from each band then being drawn into one of the four pools. The remaining eight slots will be divided into two other bands, with all 20 allotted places being drawn out. Team in the same band cannot play each other, meaning that England will avoid New Zealand, Australia and Ireland until the quarter-finals at least.

Band 1: New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland

Band 2: Scotland, Wales, South Africa, France

Band 3: Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Italy

How do I buy tickets?

World Rugby will announce ticket information closer towards the tournament.

[10 May 2017 08:29 · Jack de Menezes]

Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of today's 2019 Rugby World Cup draw, where England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland will discover who they will face in Japan in two years' time.

The draw gets underway in Kyoto at 9am BST, but we'll bring you all the build-up beforehand to keep you up-to-date with all the goings on, including what the coaches are saying ahead of the draw, as well as their immediate reactions afterwards.

[10 May 2017 08:36 · Jack de Menezes]

Who could England meet?They're in Band 1, and cannot face any other Band 1 team, meaning they will avoid Australia, Ireland and perhaps most importantly the All Blacks.

So there won't be a Pool of Death this time around?Don't get ahead of yourself. Those four teams can still land themselves a very tricky draw, given that Argentina are in Band 3, meaning that a draw - for example - of England, Wales and Argentina is very possible, with the likes of Fiji and USA likely to take the current vacant spots in Bands 4 and 5.

[10 May 2017 08:39 · Jack de Menezes]

The Welsh camp, including both Warren Gatland and Rob Howley, are in Japan for the draw, despite Gatland's ongoing commitments with the British and Irish Lions and the imminent tour of New Zealand. He'll return to his Wales duties once that tour is finished to lead Wales into the 2019 Rugby World Cup. 

[10 May 2017 08:46 · Jack de Menezes]

Would England take the draw that they received in yesterday's dress rehearsal? It's certainly a generous one, given England have never lost to Italy in their history and put more than 60 points past Scotland in the recent Six nations championship... 

[10 May 2017 08:48 · Jack de Menezes]

Just 10 minutes now until the draw gets underway and the Kyoto State Guest House is packed to the rafters with the who's who of world rugby, with leading coaches, ex-players and even a few current stars arriving to find out their 2019 fate.

[10 May 2017 08:54 · Jack de Menezes]

[10 May 2017 08:56 · Jack de Menezes]

Here we go then, the ceremony is just getting underway and we'll have the draw for the 2019 Rugby World Cup...right after a speech or two...and probably a montage too.

Right on cue, we begin with a 2015 Rugby World Cup montage!

[10 May 2017 09:02 · Jack de Menezes]

What is the dream draw for England? Probably the one that came out of the hat yesterday in the form of Scotland and Italy, while the nightmare draw would likely be either South Africa or France from Band 2, and Argentina from Band 3. 

Then again, there's the Pool of Eddie Jones that would see England, the Australian's current side, take on South Africa and Japan, two other sides he has coached.

We're underway!

[10 May 2017 09:03 · Jack de Menezes]

World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper is in attendance, as is Bill Beaumont, the chairman of World Rugby and former England great. He'll get the draw underway for us.

[10 May 2017 09:05 · Jack de Menezes]

Beaumont draws on the special victory for Japan over South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, a coming of age occasion for the Brave Blossoms that really kick-started the excitement for the World Cup in 2019 in the Land of the Rising Sun.