Ireland confirmed in top band for RWC 2019 draw

Following their 13-9 win over England in the final match of the RBS 6 Nations at the weekend, Ireland will enter the 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool Draw in the top band of seeds for the first time since they were based on the World Rugby Rankings.

By ending England's bid for back-to-back Grand Slams and a world record 19th consecutive Test success, Ireland cemented their fourth place in the rankings, ensuring they are in the same band as New Zealand, England and Australia for the draw.

The RWC 2019 draw bands for the 12 directly-qualified teams are as follows:

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

The win over England earned Ireland 1.48 rating points to take them on to 84.66 - 1.69 behind third-placed Australia and nearly two-and-a-half more than Scotland who ensured head coach Vern Cotter signed off in style with a 29-0 triumph over Italy.

France gained 0.79 of a point and two places to move up to sixth in the rankings and third in the Six Nations table, swapping places with Wales.

WORLD RUGBY RANKINGS (as of Monday, March 20):

Last week's positions in brackets -

1(1) New Zealand 94.78 rating points
2(2) England 89.53
3(3) Australia 86.35
4(4) IRELAND 84.66
5(5) Scotland 82.18
6(8) France 82.00
7(7) South Africa 81.79
8(6) Wales 81.36
9(9) Argentina 79.91
10(10) Fiji 76.46
11(11) Japan 74.22
12(12) Georgia 72.92
13(13) Tonga 71.94
14(14) Samoa 71.25
15(15) Italy 71.17