Hosts France will face the All Blacks and Italy in Pool A,
and Wales will play against Australia and Fiji in Pool C in a repeat of the
2019 World Cup pool stage draw.
It's a tough draw in Pool B. Ireland were victims of the
'pool of death' in 2007 and last year Scotland were dumped out at the pool
stages after losing to Ireland and hosts Japan.
South Africa will face a tough challenge in the 2023 Rugby
World Cup.
The Rugby World Cup 2023 Draw took place in Paris on Monday.
South Africa, the reigning world champion, was placed in
Group B and will face Ireland, Scotland, and a nation from Asia/Pacific and
another European nation.
"From a South African point of view, we've got to be on
top of our game going into the World Cup, and we've got to make sure that we
have a nice squad that's competitive," said Springboks coach Jacques
Nienaber.
"I think every pool will be top position, but it's
actually alarming to think that either South Africa, Ireland or Scotland won't
make it to the knockout stages."
The Springboks won the title in 2019 in Japan in a tough
battle against England.
Another African nation will accompany the three-time South
African world champions during the World Cup, which will be decided by whoever
wins the 2021 Rugby Africa Cup.
Meanwhile, host France will face New Zealand.
New Zealand head coach Ian Foster said facing France will be
"special"-
"I have no doubt they will organise a superb World
Cup," Foster told a press conference.
The sides met in the 1987 and 2011 finals, with the All
Blacks winning on both occasions.
And England take on Japan, and Argentina, who beat New
Zealand for the first time in their history in November.
Legal action over concussion
The draw was held days after a host of former internationals
said they were planning legal action against the sport's authorities over the
result of concussion.
The planned legal action targets World Rugby, the Rugby
Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union, for "failure to protect (the
claimants) from the risks caused by concussions".
World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte said the global
body was a leading example in the field across sports federations.
"We are a model union in terms of research, innovation
and mastering this area," former France coach Laporte said in a press
conference.
"A lot of other sports want to do like rugby with our
Head Injury Assessment protocol. It's a major subject. The priority is the
health and safety of our players."
Tickets
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, seeding levels for the
tournament draw were based on the world rankings on January 1, 2020 instead of
after the autumn internationals as originally intended.
Organisers also moved the draw forward to be able to start
selling tickets in March next year, before ticket sales for the 2024 Paris
Olympics begin in 2022.
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