Rugby: England's World Cup relief

Last Modified: 01 Dec 2008
By: Penny Ayres

Martin Johnson's England side avoid a tri-nations challenge in the pool stages of the 2011 rugby union World Cup.

England will face Argentina, Scotland, the top European qualifier and the winner of a play-off in pool B.

Johnson's side dropped to sixth in the world rankings after their 6-32 defeat by the All Blacks on Saturday - the end of a disappointing run in the autumn internationals for the young team.

Hosts and tournament favourites New Zealand come up against France, who defeated them in the quarter finals of the 2007 tournament, and Tonga in group A.

If New Zealand win their group, England will have to also top the table to avoid facing the All Blacks if they progress to the knock-out stages.

Argentina had their best result in an international tournament when they finished third in the 2007 World Cup above France. However, the team only gets a limited amount of high-level international match play, leading to calls for their inclusion in either the tri-nations or the six-nations tournaments.

Ireland come up against Australia and Italy in group C, while six-nations champions Wales face defending champions South Africa in pool D.

Warren Gatland's team will also play Fiji who prevented the Welsh side progressing to the knock-out stages in France last year.

Wales defeated Australia 21-18 in the last of their autumn internationals, moving them up to fifth place in the world rankings. They may face a rematch with the Wallabies in the quarter finals.

Each pool group will consist of five teams, with the remaining places given to teams that win their place through qualifying competitions.

The twelve teams named in the draw earned their places during the last World Cup. Each of the twelve teams were then seeded based on their current world ranking to separate the top four.

The pool groups for the 2011 World Cup (Picture: Getty Images).