England’s path to a potential house Rugby World Cup triumph has been mapped out with the hosts positioned in a pool alongside Australia, USA, and Samoa for subsequent summer season’s match.
The Pink Roses, runaway leaders on the prime of the world rankings and on 20-match profitable streak, are clear favourites to go one higher than they did in New Zealand in 2022.
If the top-seeded group wins every pool, England may solely meet world quantity twos Canada or defending champions New Zealand within the closing.
Eire, who claimed a well-known upset win over New Zealand in WXV earlier this month, are grouped with the Black Ferns, Japan and Spain after failing to qualify for the earlier match.
England face a possible quarter-final in opposition to the runners-up from the pool containing Scotland and Wales – drawn collectively for the second straight match – Canada and Fiji.
France are England’s likeliest last-four opponents and so they, who together with the Pink Roses, Canada and New Zealand had been prime seeds, are in a bunch with Italy, South Africa and Brazil.
The draw was carried out on BBC’s The One Present by England’s 2014 World Cup winner Maggie Alphonsi.
The match begins on Friday 22 August with England in motion at Sunderland’s Stadium of Gentle and culminates within the closing at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium on 27 September.