Who will Lady Luck favour at World Cup draw?

AFP: Rugby’s leading nations will be hoping for a big slice of luck at Wednesday’s 2019 World Cup draw, where seedings stacked with dangerous teams could throw up more than one ‘Pool of Death’.

More than two years before the tournament in Japan, the draw ceremony in historic Kyoto could go a long way to deciding who will lift the trophy in Yokohama on 2 November 2019.

England fell victim to a nightmare scenario at the last World Cup, where the hosts failed to reach the knock-out stages after being drawn against Wales, Australia, Fiji and Uruguay.

This time around, for the tournament’s first edition in Asia, New Zealand, England, Australia and Ireland make up the top seeds to be divided among the four pools of five.

The second band of seeds is Scotland, Wales, South Africa and France, while the third contains dangerous floaters in Argentina, the 2015 semi-finalists, Georgia, Italy and hosts Japan.

Another eight teams from Oceania, Europe, the Americas and Africa will be added after qualifying, with 10th-ranked Fiji, Tonga and Samoa among the leading contenders.

It raises the possibility of New Zealand, the two-time defending champions, South Africa, Argentina and Samoa all landing in the same pool, along with a host of other treacherous combinations.

A strong showing by Japan is considered crucial for attendances and atmosphere as the World Cup arrives, for the first time, in a country where rugby isn’t a mainstream sport.

But the Brave Blossoms, who stunned South Africa at the last World Cup, are bullish, with winger Akihito Yamada saying he hoped to draw England and their ex-Japan coach Eddie Jones.

‘First game will be key’

“I’d like to get Eddie’s team, England. I want him to see Japan’s new style of rugby after four years,” insisted Yamada.

Captain Shota Horie said: “All the teams will be strong so I don’t have any real preferred opposition. The first game will be key so we will prepare for that as if our lives depend on it.” 

Steve Hansen’s New Zealand are striving to complete a hat-trick of World Cup victories, while England, up to second in the rankings under Jones, are dreaming of ending the All Blacks’ dominance.

South Africa, Australia, Wales and France are likely to be revamped and revitalised by 2019, while Argentina and Japan will look to build on their successes of 2015.

Rugby is striving to make inroads into Asia, including China, where World Rugby announced a $100 million investment from Alisports, an offshoot of e-commerce giant Alibaba, last year. 

Participation in Asia has almost doubled since 2009 to more than 500,000 players, according to the governing body, which hopes to have one million new players in the region by 2019.

The World Cup will be played in 12 stadiums across Japan, with 75% of the population living within an hour’s drive from a match venue, organisers say.

Seedings for Wednesday’s draw

Band One: New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland 

Band Two: Scotland, Wales, South Africa, France 

Band Three: Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Italy

Band Four: Oceania 1, Americas 1, Europe 1, Africa 1 

Band Five: Oceania 2, Americas 2, Winner of play-off between Europe 2 and Oceania 3, Repechage Winner

Kiwis axe drug scandal pair from World Cup 

AFP: New Zealand dropped stars Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor from their Rugby League World Cup squad this week after their alleged involvement in a drug incident.

Coach David Kidwell said the pair had no place at this year’s tournament after allegedly being caught trying to buy cocaine outside a Canberra nightclub after losing a Test match to Australia on Friday.

Separately the Sydney Roosters indefinitely suspended New Zealand centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall who was charged with drug possession last week, pending an internal investigation.

The scandals are among a blizzard of drug allegations that have put rugby league authorities in Australia and New Zealand on the defensive.

Kidwell said Bromwich and Proctor’s axing showed “no one is bigger than the team”.  

“I can’t express my disappointment enough in their actions in the early hours of Saturday morning,” he said.

“We have values to uphold, they have broken my trust, their teammates’ trust and the trust of the New Zealand public.”

The Rugby League World Cup will be held from late October in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Bromwich had already announced he would step down as New Zealand Test captain, with his Melbourne Storm NRL club banning him for two NRL matches and dropping him from its leadership group.

Proctor has relinquished his role as Gold Coast Titans co-captain and issued a statement saying he was “extremely embarrassed and sorry” for his actions.

Australian media reported Monday that Canberra police were still considering whether to charge the pair.

In another narcotics-related scandal Cronulla Sharks club chairman Damian Keogh stepped aside following his arrest late Friday for alleged drug possession.