Excitement grows after Red Roses’ ‘tough’ Women’s Rugby World Cup draw

England captain Marlie Packer insisted her side will be ready for their “tough” pool at next year’s home Women’s World Cup after being drawn with Australia, the US and Samoa.

With the full fixture list for women’s rugby showpiece set to be announced on Tuesday, organisers must have a strategic think about who the Red Roses should face first up in Pool A when they open the tournament at The Stadium of Light on August 22.

“It’s an exciting draw for us. When Samoa was pulled out first I had goosebumps, as I played my first World Cup match against Samoa back in 2014,” said Packer.

“We know what the US will bring – their physicality is right up there. It is going to be a tough pool and [they will] ask questions of us, but that’s really good because we want to be in the best possible spot come the knock-out stages.”

As the tournament’s dark horses, Australia, who recently won the WXV2 title, have shown signs of massive growth.

They are also coached by Englishwoman Jo Yapp, which will no doubt add extra spice to the occasion. “The way the Australian team is playing at the moment, it would be good to meet them early on, but whenever we play them we’ll be ready for them,” added Packer.

England’s likely route to the final could include a quarter-final clash with either Wales or Scotland – who were drawn together in Pool B – and a semi-final against France, their longstanding Six Nations rivals. Should they reach the final at Twickenham on September 27, a showdown with Canada or New Zealand could await.

Elsewhere, Ireland, who recently stunned world champions New Zealand en route to finishing as runners-up in WXV1, have been pitted against the Black Ferns in Pool C.

The draw, which was conducted on the BBC’s The One Show by Gabby Logan and Maggie Alphonsi, the former England flanker-turned-pundit, also sees France and Italy paired together in Pool D. “Back at [the World Cups in] 2014 and 2017 I can’t even remember there being a draw, so it’s exciting that it was on primetime TV,” said Packer.

08:17 PM BST

Analysis: we couldn’t have hoped for a better draw

All in all, it’s a cracking draw with some intriguing and Eurocentric match-ups. England will open the tournament next August in Sunderland and with the full fixture list announced on Tuesday, organisers must have a strategic think about who the Red Roses’ opponents should be.

As the tournament’s dark horses, Australia, who are headed up by Englishwoman Jo Yapp, would seem an attractive shout. The US would also be a respectable choice, but the fear is that England, who recently put 50 points on the Eagles at WXV, would walk all over them. A lop-sided scoreline wouldn’t be a great look and risks damaging interest levels early on.

In Pool B, we have a Six Nations-esque clash between Scotland and Wales, which should attract a sizeable crowd at worst and has Ashton Gate written all over it. Nothing like a bit of home nations rivalry to get the juices going.

Pool C sees a fascinating rematch between New Zealand and Ireland, who stunned the world champions at WXV1 recently. These teams have only ever met three times in their history and Ireland have won two of those encounters (they have a better win-loss ratio against the Black Ferns than England...)

Pool D will see Italy and France compete in what is always a bit of an arm-wrestle - on their day, the Azzurre could topple a France side who have been on the wane of late - and it’s only right we give a shout out to minnows Brazil. The South American nation are the lowest ranked team in the tournament, sitting in 42nd.

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Fixtures to be announced next week

The Women’s Rugby World Cup will take place across six weekends from August 22 to September 27 next year.

England will host the tournament for a second time, with the matches taking place in venues across the length and width of the country.

After tonight’s group stage draw, the fixtures for the tournament will be announced next Tuesday.

It is expected to be the biggest and most accessible celebration of women’s rugby ever, with games taking place in venues including Twickenham and the Stadium of Light.

Find out more about next year’s tournament here.

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England’s likely route to the final

If results go as expected, and England, Canada, New Zealand and France all finish top of their pools, this is the Red Roses’ likely route to the final:

Quarter-final v Scotland

Semi-final v France

Final v Canada or New Zealand.

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Maggie Alphonsi’s thoughts

Speaking on the One Show after the draw, Alphonsi said:

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Red Roses have tough(ish) pool

There we have it... the draw for next year’s tournament has been made and it isn’t a bad one! A tough(ish) pool for England, who drew the highest ranked seeds in both band 2 and band 3 in Australia and the US respectively.

The Wallaroos are ranked fifth in the world, while the US are ninth. Samoa are a proud rugby nation and you can expect them to be a tricky opponent, too.

07:30 PM BST

The draw in full

• Pool A: England, Australia, US, Samoa

• Pool B: Canada, Scotland, Wales, Fiji

• Pool C: New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, Spain

• Pool D: France, Italy, South Africa, Brazil.

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The final round of draws

Italy finish off Pool D, and sit alongside France, South Africa, and Brazil.

Ireland top off Pool C, and join New Zealand, Japan, and Spain.

Scotland join Pool B with Canada, Wales, and Fiji.

And in the final draw for Pool A, Australia join England, the US, and Samoa.

07:26 PM BST

Draws from band three

South Africa have been drawn alongside France and Brazil in Pool D.

Japan - who have made five previous appearances - join Pool C.

In Pool B, Wales - the 10th ranked side in the world - join Canada and Fiji.

The US join England and Samoa in Pool A. They are one of just three teams to have previously won the tournament - the other two being England and New Zealand.

07:25 PM BST

Band four draws

Brazil, the lowest ranked team, join France in Pool D.

Spain join New Zealand in Pool C.

Fiji, the 17th ranked side in the world, join Canada in Pool B.

In Pool A, Samoa - who have made three previous appearances in the World Cup - join England.

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Here we go...

The draw is about to begin. Rugby legend Maggie Alphonsi and One Show host Roman Kemp will be drawing the teams, alongside host Gabby Logan.

07:20 PM BST

Australia the dark horses

What a turnaround it has been for Australia. The Wallaroos have gone from strength to strength under new head coach Jo Yapp, the former Worcester Warriors coach and England scrum-half.

To say she has made an impression is an understatement. Her side edged an epic contest 31-22 against Scotland to be crowned WXV2 champions last week. Yapp was unveiled as the Wallaroos head coach last year and made history in the process, becoming the first woman to take charge of an Australian senior national football team.

They’re seeded second in tonight’s draw.

07:18 PM BST

Players in the building

The captains of England, Wales and Scotland, and Ireland’s co-captain, are in the BBC One Show studio ahead of the draw which is due to take place around 7:20pm.

England captain, Marlie Packer, told the hosts: “I think for me personally it’s a massive honour and privilege to do so [be captain].

“Knowing that every team wants to beat you, you can’t be complacent. You’ve always got to push yourself - in training sessions we’re striving to be the best.”

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England captain ready for action

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Big moment for women’s game

England’s Red Roses are now a regular feature on the BBC, but to have the World Cup draw broadcast live on one of the corporation’s flagship evening shows feels like a moment and another valuable opportunity to promote the tournament on prime time television.

Records have already tumbled after 60,000 tickets were snapped up on the opening day of the pre-sale last month, with organisers billing it as an “era-defining” moment for women’s sport.

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History of the tournament

At the inaugural Women’s World Cup in Wales, the US became the first team to lift the trophy in 1991 after overcoming England 19-6 in the final. The tables were turned three years later when England triumphed 38-23 against the defending champions in Edinburgh.

The competition has been almost entirely dominated by New Zealand ever since, with England being the only team to challenge their influence when they won the competition for a second time in 2014.

The last World Cup, held a year later than planned in 2022 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, saw New Zealand host for the first time. Their name was etched onto the trophy for a sixth time as they became the first hosts to lift the silverware. They beat the Red Roses 34-31 in the final, ending England’s 30-game unbeaten streak in dramatic fashion.

Now, 34 years after the inaugural World Cup, the competition will once again be held on the British Isles in 2025 as England play host for the second time.

Next year, we will see if the Red Roses can unseat the defending champions and lift the trophy for a third time, and for the first time on English soil.

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Where will the competition be held?

Taking place up and down the country, the World Cup will be the biggest and most accessible celebration of women’s rugby ever.

Sunderland’s Stadium of Light will host the opening game on August 22, while Twickenham will stage the final on September 27.

Between those dates, games will be played in a range of stadiums across England, with 95 per cent of the population within a two-hour travel time of a venue.

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How will the draw work?

Tonight’s draw will take place live on BBC’s The One Show from around 7.20pm. Gabby Logan and England’s 2014 World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi are part of the hosting team.

England sit top of Pool A. Meanwhile, Canada, New Zealand and France top Pools B, C and D respectively. They are the three other teams who received direct qualification after finishing in the top four at the last World Cup, which took place in New Zealand in 2022.

Next year’s competition will feature an expanded format of 16 teams, compared to the 12 that competed in previous tournaments. The other 12 teams earned a spot through regional competitions and at WXV, the three-tier global competition.

All of the qualified teams have been seeded one to 16 and then separated into four bands, which are as follows:

• Band 1: England, Canada, New Zealand, France

• Band 2: Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Italy

• Band 3: US, Wales, Japan, South Africa

• Band 4: Spain, Samoa, Fiji, Brazil.

Each band will be drawn randomly to determine the four pools – starting with band four – with the first drawn going into Pool D, the second into Pool C, third into Pool B and fourth into Pool A.

You can find out more about where and when the competition will be held here.

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Good evening

Welcome to Telegraph Sport’s coverage of the Women’s Rugby World Cup draw.

Tonight’s draw kick-starts an exciting run-up to the tournament, which England will host next summer in venues across the country – including Twickenham, Sunderland’s Stadium of Light and Brighton and Hove Albion Stadium.

The Red Roses are firm favourites heading into the competition. As the host nation, they received automatic qualification – however with a rating of 97.56 points, they head into the draw as the highest-rated team of all-time in both the men’s and women’s rankings.

At the last World Cup in 2022, they were defeated by New Zealand, the host nation, in a dramatic final in front of a then record-breaking crowd for a women’s fixture of 42,579 at Eden Park.

This tournament is expected to be even bigger – more than 60,000 tickets were bought in the presale alone across the opening match, the bronze-medal game and the final.

England have always finished top of their pool and are the only team to have reached the semi-finals in every tournament to date. However, the Red Roses have struggled with that final step, having won the World Cup only twice in 1994 and 2014.

A decade on from their last victory, John Mitchell’s team will be hoping to knock defending champions New Zealand off their perch.

Tonight’s draw will see the 16 teams drawn into four pools of four in readiness for next summer’s group stage.