Date confirmed for 2007 draw

France host the sixth Rugby World Cup's final tournament in September and October 2007. According to French publication, L'Equipe, the draw for the pools will be done in Dublin on May 12, 2004.

There will be 20 teams, divided into four pools of five, at the 2007 RWC.

The four semi-finalists from 2003 will head the pools: England, the current world champions, in Pool 1, Australia, the runners-up in 2003, in Pool 2, New Zealand, who came third, in Pool 3 and France, who ended fourth, in Pool 4.

The draw will decide the pools for the four beaten quarter-finalists - Wales, Scotland, South Africa and Ireland.

The various qualifiers will be added to these pools.

The 48 matches will be played at 13 venues - 10 in France and three abroad.

The French venues will be in Lens, Paris, Saint-Denis, Nantes, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Montpellier, Marseille, Toulouse and Bordeaux. The foreign venues will be Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff.