Tough road awaits at Rugby World Cup, especially for first Americas qualifier

TORONTO — For Canada coach Mark Anscombe, Wednesday’s draw for the 2019 Rugby World Cup could be labelled “pick your poison.”

The Canadian men are vying for one of the eight remaining spots in the 20-country field for rugby’s quadrennial showcase, slated for Japan. And the draw in Kyoto offered up a tough rugby road for the first team to emerge from the Americas.

Should 22nd-ranked Canada get past the 17th-ranked U.S. Eagles in a June home-away-away qualifying playoff, its reward as Americas 1 will be a place in Pool C with No. 2 England, No. 6 France, No. 9 Argentina and Oceania 2 (likely one of No. 10 Fiji, No. 13 Tonga or No. 14 Samoa).

“It’s a group that nobody would want,” said Jeremy Guscott, a former England international turned BBC analyst.

It’s also a punishing pool. England, France and Argentina sport big, powerful packs, making for a hostile, hard-hitting World Cup ride for whomever joins them.

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“Just the physical presence they have with their ball-runners is going to be a challenge for the team that gets paired up in there,” Anscombe said in an interview.

Should the Canadians fail to get past the U.S. in June, they will meet a top South American team, with No. 21 Uruguay a likely foe, to see who qualifies as Americas 2.

That would mean a spot in Pool D with No. 3 Australia, No. 8 Wales, No. 12 Georgia and Oceania 1 (likely Fiji, Tonga or Samoa).

Anscombe sees this group as a mix of the expansive game with Australia and Wales and the more physical approach of Georgia and the Pacific Islanders.

“You’re going to need a more-rounded game in that competition,” the New Zealander said of Pool D. “Whereas in Pool C, if you don’t physically front up you’re just going to get destroyed.”

Canada’s last chance to qualify for the tournament would be via a world repechage tournament. The winner of that will slot into Pool B with defending champion and world No. 1 New Zealand, No. 7 South Africa, No. 11 Italy and Africa 1.

“If you look at the pools, is there an easy one?” asked Anscombe. “They all bring types of strengths to the competition. There’s no such things as an easy pool when you just look at the 12 teams that have already been named.

“It’s going to have to be a bloody good day for the teams that aren’t in there yet. To get it right, they need everything to be top-notch on the day to get a win.”

The goal remains to qualify as early as possible, so teams can research their opponents and know their tournament route.

“The later you leave it, the more anxious people get,” said Anscombe. “Everyone wants to be qualified now so you can start your planning and your preparation.”

Pool A features No. 4 Ireland, No. 5 Scotland, No. 11 Japan, Europe 1 and a playoff winner (Europe 2 versus Oceania 3).

“There’s still some quality teams that haven’t qualified yet, (are) still to come in. It’s not as though they’re all easy beats either,” said Anscombe.

The quarter-finals will see the Pool A winner versus Pool B runner-up, Pool B winner versus Pool A runner-up, Pool C winner versus Pool D runner-up and Pool D winner versus Pool C runner-up.

Canada has qualified for every World Cup since the tournament started in 1987. Its overall record is 6-21-2, including an 0-4-0 showing in 2015.

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Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press