Pool Stage
The first round, or pool stage, sees the 20 teams divided into four pools of five teams, using the same format that was used in 2003, 2007 and in 2011. The pool stage draw was conducted at the Tate Modern on 3 December 2012 at 15:00 GMT, and divided the 12 automatic qualifiers into three bands according to their place in the most recent IRB World Rankings.
The bands are as follows:
- Band 1: New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, France
- Band 2: England, Ireland, Samoa, Argentina
- Band 3: Wales, Italy, Tonga, Scotland
- Band 4: Oceania 1, Europe 1, Asia 1, Americas 1
- Band 5: Africa 1, Europe 2, Americas 2, Playoff winner
Read more about this topic: 2015 Rugby World Cup
Famous quotes containing the words pool and/or stage:
“A pool is, for many of us in the West, a symbol not of affluence but of order, of control over the uncontrollable. A pool is water, made available and useful, and is, as such, infinitely soothing to the western eye.”
—Joan Didion (b. 1934)
“The stage was our school, our home, our life.”
—Lillian Gish (1893–1993)