The 2019 Rugby World Cup draw takes place this morning at 9am (Irish time) in Kyoto, Japan.
The format for the draw is four groups, each comprising of five teams.
Ireland are among the top seeds for the tournament and so will avoid New Zealand, England and Australia in the group stage.
There are, however, some tricky possible opponents for Ireland in both the second and third bands of the seedings.
Ideally, Ireland would prefer to draw Scotland and Georgia, while avoiding both South Africa and old foes Argentina.
2019 Rugby World Cup draw seedings
Band one: New Zealand, England, Australia, Ireland
Band two: Scotland, France, South Africa, Wales
Band three: Argentina, Japan, Italy, Georgia
Band four: Oceania 1, Europe 1, Americas 1, Oceania 2
Band five: Africa 1, Americas 2, Play-off winner, Repechage winner
Best case scenario for Ireland
Ireland, Scotland, Georgia, Europe 1, Repechage winner.
Worst case scenario for Ireland
Ireland, South Africa, Argentina, Oceania 1, Playoff winner.
2019 Rugby World Cup draw
Picture credit: World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images
