Cape Town - The pool draw for the 2019 Rugby World Cupis likely to be conducted closer to the tournament to reduce the risk of three heavyweight nations occupying the same group.
According to the Guardian website, England, Wales and Australia are preparing to share the same pool at next month's World Cup, despite all of them being ranked among the world’s top-six sides.
The draw for the 2015 tournament, which is now exactly a month away, was made in December 2012 at a time when Wales had temporarily slipped to ninth position in the rankings courtesy of a last-gasp defeat to Australia in a Test played outside the international window, which meant they ceased to be one of the top eight seeds.
Many within the game believe the pool draw should be delayed to try to ensure the strongest sides are kept apart until the knockout stages.