Ireland miss out on top seeding for 2023 Rugby World Cup draw
The Ireland team ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup clash with Japan. A quarter-final defeat by New Zealand has meant Ireland will be in band 2 when the draw is made for the 2023 tournament. Picture: INPHO/Jayne Russell
Ireland’s hopes of earning a top-tier seeding for December’s World Cup 2023 pool draw were dashed on Friday as World Rugby issued its rankings for the Paris ceremony.
The decision by the game’s governing body to based the pool draw on the world rankings as of January 1, 2020, rather than post this November’s international Test window means Ireland will continue to pay the price for World Cup 2019 failure at the next tournament.
Joe Schmidt’s squad became the latest Ireland outfit to exit at the quarter-final stage last October in Japan, hammered by New Zealand in their last-eight knockout game in Tokyo having failed to top their pool following a shock defeat to the hosts in Shizuoka.
Schmidt departed the head coach role on schedule when Ireland arrived home from Japan with Andy Farrell promoted from defence to the top job and it is he who will learn the national team’s fate for France 2023 at the draw on December 14.
The next Test window begins with the completion of the Six Nations and games against Italy and France later this month before Autumn Nations Cup games in a pool against Wales, England and Georgia ahead of a final-round game against an opponent from the opposite pool containing Fiji, France, Italy and Scotland.
The hope was that a successful autumn would secure a top seeding but Farrell’s side have been placed in Band 2 of the 2023 pool draw.
That means Ireland will face one of top seeds England, New Zealand, world champions South Africa or Wales, the 2019 semi-finalists who occupied the top four of the rankings on January 1.
Wales are currently sixth with Ireland ranked fourth, although Farrell’s side were in fifth at the retrospective World Rugby cut-off date, and are banded with Australia, France and Japan.
“Acknowledging the global Covid-19 impact on international rugby in 2020, with some teams not playing this year, and to be fair to all qualified teams, the Rugby World Cup Board has decided that the World Rugby rankings as of 1 January 2020 will be used to determine the five bands,” a World Rugby statement issued on Friday explained.
“This represents the fairest scenario given it was the last time that all teams were able to play.”
South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales
Ireland, Australia, France, Japan
Scotland, Argentina, Fiji, Italy
Oceania 1, Europe 1, Americas 1, Asia / Pacific 1
Africa 1, Europe 2, Americas 2, Final Qualifier Winner
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