The Springboks will be in the second band of seeds for the 2019 World Cup draw and could possibly be drawn in the same pool as the All Blacks and Japan.

Teams who are categorised in the same band of seeds cannot be pooled together at the World Cup, with one team per seed-grouping set to be added to a different pool. The seeding process has used the rankings since the 2011 World Cup.

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The Springboks are ranked seventh and thus fall out of the top-seed category. They are in the second-seed grouping alongside Scotland, France and Wales.

Ireland will enter the pool draw in the top band of seeds for the first time, alongside New Zealand, England and Australia; while Argentina, Japan, Georgia and Italy are listed as third seeds.

This means Allister Coetzee’s charges will avoid Scotland, France and Wales during the early stages of the World Cup, but they will definitely be pooled with a team from the top-seeds band and one from the third-seeds band.

The 2019 World Cup draw bands for automatically qualified teams:

Band 1 – New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland
Band 2 – Scotland, France, South Africa, Wales
Band 3 – Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Italy

World Rugby rankings (Top 10)
1. New Zealand 94.78
2. England 89.53
3. Australia 86.35
4. Ireland 84.66
5. Scotland 82.18
6. France 82.00
7. South Africa 81.79
8. Wales 81.36
9. Argentina 79.91
10. Fiji 76.46

Full rankings
How the rankings work

Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images