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Set your alarm clocks. The draw for Rugby World Cup 2019 is to take place tomorrow morning. With the tournament being played in Japan the draw is to take place at 5pm local time. For the rugby public in the Americas it will require an early morning mid-week alarm.
When?
5pm in Japan converts into 9am GMT. For the Americas it is not so friendly. The one country directly impacted in tomorrow’s draw will be Argentina. For those of the 43 million Argentineans wanting to watch the draw live they will need to set the alarm for 5am.
The same is true for neighbors Chile and Uruguay and the vast majority of Brazilians. Those in the Brasília time zone will also need to wake-up at 5am. For those in other zones it will be 4am or 3am. For Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Paraguay and Venezuela it will require setting the alarm clock for 4am.
Further east and the time will be earlier. In Colombia, Ecuador and Colombia alarm clocks will need to be set for 3am. The same is true of Mexico City and Panama. For those in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua set your alarms for 2am.
In North America the variation is to be even bigger. It will be 4am eastern when the draw is made. Those on the west coast will have the choice of a quick nap or waiting up to see it live at 1am.
Trial-run Draw
In preparing for the big date the Japan 2018 organizers staged a trial-run. It was both enthralling and scary for spectators and participants. For some it saw them drawn into a pool of death. One of these was Argentina. The results of the trial-draw were as follows:
| POOL A | POOL B | POOL C | POOL D |
| England | Ireland | New Zealand | Australia |
| Scotland | Wales | South Africa | France |
| Italy | Georgia | Japan | Argentina |
Best Case Scenario
For Argentina to negotiate its way out of such a pool would require a tremendous campaign. Of the four pools Pool D is arguably the toughest while Pool B would be the weakest. This could change depending on how the band 4 and band 5 participants were to be drawn.
The best Argentina can hope for is open to debate. Nicolás Sánchez said that he hopes to be drawn with Ireland and Wales. The probability of Wales being the easiest to defeat of the band 2 nations is debatable however. With the alternatives being France, Scotland and South Africa the easiest route to the final eight would arguably be Scotland not Wales.
Worst Case Scenario
Argentina’s trial-draw was an instance of an unfavorable draw. It could be worse though. Indeed, Sánchez also spoke of avoiding New Zealand, Australia and South Africa as being the priority. Argentina could be in Pool C in place of Japan in the trial-draw. This would be Sánchez’s worst-case scenario.
Americas Qualifiers
Argentina prequalified for the tournament. It is to be joined by two others, one of whom is certain to come form North America. Canada and the USA will face-off in home-and-away matches in June The winner on aggregate will be Americas 1. This country will be placed in Band 4.
The loser of the North American qualifiers will face the winner of the South American A Championship. This will see a North vs South American series of two matches. Uruguay enter as favorites against Brazil, Chile and Paraguay.
With Japan being the host nation and the opening match confirmed to be in Tokyo Stadium (49,970 capacity) rather than the much larger Yokohama International Stadium (72,327 capacity) the prospect of opening against a Band 4 or Band 5 qualifier is very real.
Americas 1 could thereby realistically face Japan in the opening match. Moreover Americas 2 could do likewise if pool from band 5. Such a possibility would be tremendous not only for Japan and Canada or the USA but for the global game.
Band 1: Australia, England, Ireland, New Zealand
Band 2: France, Scotland, South Africa, Wales
Band 3: Argentina, Georgia, Italy, Japan
Band 4: Oceania 1, Americas 1, Europe 1, Africa 1
Band 5: Oceania 2, Americas 2, Play-Off Winner (Europe 2 vs Oceania 3), Repechage Winner
