Back in the previous World Cup in
2010, Wales were pitted with Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in what
was described as the ‘Group of Death’.
But despite giving a brave account
of themselves they were unable to win a pool match and eventually finished
ninth after gaining revenge over South Africa in the play-offs thanks to a
wonderful performance from the side.
The hotly-anticipated draw for 2014
took place in the Hotel de Ville in Paris today, and created some
mouth-watering clashes for next August.
Wales Women Head Coach Rhys Edwards
was a keen spectator of the draw and was satisfied with the outcome.
"I'm happy to have avoided
England and New Zealand because they are obviously the top two teams in the
world at the moment,” he said.
“The draw has been a long time
coming so it's nice to know now who we are playing.
“Up until this point everything has
been hypothetical but now we can give France, South Africa and Australia our
full attention.”
"France at home is going to be
a huge challenge but we will be looking to next year's Six Nations as a
springboard for the World Cup.
“We are in a healthy position at
the moment as we have genuine competition for places right across the team so
there are no guaranteed starts whereas that has been our downfall in the past.”
In Pool B, defending champions New
Zealand will face tough clashes against USA and Ireland as well as Asian
qualifiers Kazakhstan as they attempt to win a fifth successive title.
Women's Rugby World Cup 2014 will
take place in Paris from August 1-17 with the pool stages taking place at FFR
Marcoussis, with the semi-finals and final being played at Stade Jean Bouin.
Pool A - England, Canada, Spain, Samoa
Pool B - New Zealand, USA, Ireland, Kazakhastan
Pool C - Australia, France, Wales, South Africa
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