The pools for the 2005 World Cup, scheduled to take place at the end of the current ASRL season, have been released. With the cup to be hosted in Europe, sides such as Ireland and England must surely be favoured to push the Australian champions to the very limit.

GROUP A - England
England - 3rd
Scotland - 5th
Wales - 10th
USA - 14th
Japan - 17th
Italy - 21st

GROUP B - France
France - 12th
New Zealand - 4th
AA/TSI - 9th
Germany - 18th
Malta - 22nd
Lebanon - 15th

GROUP C - Russia
Russia - 19th
Australia - 1st
Papua New Guinea - 8th
South Africa - 7th
Cook Islands - 16th
West Indies - 23rd

GROUP D - Ireland
Ireland - 2nd
Tonga - 6th
Fiji - 11th
Samoa - 13th
Greece - 20th
Morocco - 24th

NOTE: Coaches can begin researching and submitting their player lists now. These aren't set in stone, but give me time to add players to the database if need be. Remember, Rugby Union players are eligible.