The Wallabies have drawn England and Wales in Group A of the 2015 RWC.

by Brendan Bradford –

The Wallabies have been drawn alongside England and Wales in the so-called “Group of Death” for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.

Australia recorded victories over both Northern Hemisphere powerhouses during this year’s Spring Tour, but with only two teams going through, even a slight hiccup – like the loss to Ireland in the 2011 tournament – could spell an early exit or a quarter-final match against current World Number Two, South Africa. The group will also contain the Oceania 1 entry – most likely to be Fiji – and the winner of a repechage play-off.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans admitted it was a tough group, but stressed there’s still a long way to go before the tournament kicks-off.

“When you look at the sides and you look at history, that’s an easy suggestion to make, but they’re all tough,” he said after the draw was made earlier this week.

“The fact of the matter is once you get into the tournament, there’s no such thing as an easy draw. We’ve seen in recent times Test match rugby is about in-the-now, it’s about on-the-day, and nothing that’s happened before has any relevance on what’s coming after, so we (have) just got to keep working our way through the program.”

“There’s no such thing as an easy draw,” Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.

England have beaten Australia in three World Cups (the final in 2003 and quarter-finals in 1995 and 2007) while the Wallabies defeated the English to win the 1991 final. The 2015 draw means the Wallabies will effectively play ‘away’ games against England at Twickenham and Wales in Cardiff – a fact not lost on flanker David Pocock.

“There’s going to be no easy games and to win the tournament, you have to beat the best and deal with what you’re dealt. And potentially playing Wales at Millennium Stadium, that will also be a massive match for us,” Pocock said.

England coach Stuart Lancaster, fresh off his side’s 38-21 thumping of the World Champion All Blacks, agreed it was a tough pool and highlighted youthful composition of each team.

“To win the World Cup you have to win big games,” he said. “Wales I have a huge amount of respect for and for what they have done recently and where they will be positioned. I know their squad pretty well and there are still going to be a lot of them around in 2015.”

“Australia have just beaten us and are an incredibly competitive nation. Again you look at the age and profile of their squad and a lot of those lads will be around as well. We have a few young lads as well so we will look forward to it in a few years time.”

Meanwhile, straight-talking Welsh coach, Warren Gatland said the tough group would put his side in good stead for the later stages of the tournament.

“We put ourselves in this position and our experience of 2011 is that if you come out of a tough group it sets you up for the quarter and semi-finals,” said Gatland whose Welsh side played South Africa, Samoa and Fiji before reaching the semi-finals last year.

“The tougher the group the better. If you look at New Zealand, often they don’t get tested enough in the pool stage. Teams sometimes field a second side against them and then they often come undone.”

Two time champions South Africa are in Pool B with Samoa, Scotland and qualifiers from Asia and the Americas. The second placed team in this group plays the winner of Australia’s Pool A in the quarter finals.

The All Blacks, who won the 2012 IRB “Team of the Year” award on Sunday, are in Pool C with Argentina, Tonga and yet to be decided qualifiers from Europe and Africa.

On a positive note, the winner of Australia’s “Group of Death” will avoid meeting New Zealand until the final – provided the current holders win their group, something they have done at each of the previous seven World Cups.

In Pool D, 2011 finalists, France play Six Nations opponents Ireland and Italy with the numbers being made up by teams from the Americas and Europe.

Full draw

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

Quarter-finals

QF1: Winner of Pool B v Runner-up Pool A

QF2: Winner of Pool C v runner-up Pool D

QF3: Winner of Pool A v Runner-up Pool B

QF4: Winner of Pool D v runner-up C

Semi-finals

SF1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF2

SF2: Winner QF3 v Winner QF4