In addition to facing Stuart Lancaster’s side and the Wallabies, Wales will take on a qualifier from the Oceania region and the winner of a play off.
After slipping to four defeats this autumn, Wales dropped out of the top eight seeds for today’s draw meaning they were drawn in tier three along with Scotland, Italy and Tonga.
This meant Wales were always likely to face two of the world’s top sides and today’s draw at the Tate Modern in London confirmed just that.
They will face an Australian side who secured a last minute 12-14 win at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, their latest victory over Wales following a 3-0 series win in Australia over the summer.
Though they face a tough draw, Pool A will hold no fears for a Welsh side who reached the semi-finals of the 2011 tournament, despite being drawn with South Africa, Samoa and Fiji in Pool D.
If another clash with the Wallabies in 2015 was not exciting enough for Welsh fans, the meeting with England will arguably be the tie of the pool stages.
Warren Gatland’s side have had the edge over their English rivals in recent years and won 12-19 at Twickenham earlier this year on their way to the Grand Slam.
And if Wales can secure a win over either of these two sides, they will be on their way to progressing from a hugely competitive pool.
The tournament begins on September 18, 2015, and the final will be held at Twickenham on October 31.Â
