BEHIND THE SCENES

A decade has passed and England have drawn Wales in their World Cup group again, so we revisit the 2015 saga

- words JOSH GRAHAM

FOR MULTIPLE reasons, England drawing Wales in the 2027 Rugby World Cup pools is nowhere near the problem or disaster it turned out to be back on home soil in 2015.

Firstly, Wales have now slid from a Six Nations superpower to a bunch of also-rans delighted to beat Japan at home in the last play. They are ranked world No 11.

Of course, it was their precarious drop down the rankings when the 2015 draw took place that created 'The Pool of Death', with England and Wales joined by Australia and Fiji, along with Uruguay.

Crucially, the next World Cup down under features 24 teams and a Round of 16, so pool-stage jeopardy has been abolished. The four best third-placed teams across the six pools will progress. How England would have longed for that ten years ago. If you're an English fan who has suppresed the memory, the home World Cup under Stuart Lancaster got off to a sticky start with an unconvincing 35-11 win against Fiji.

"Even the first game against Fiji was a little bit of a slog," Mako Vunipola tells us. "Eventually we got the points, but it wasn't as easy as the score emphasised."

Next was the hotly-anticipated clash with Wales at Twickenham. "That game was in the diary three years out for every Welsh player," recalls Jamie Roberts. "The 26th of September, 2015. It was always going to be a huge game." And it did not disappoint. A dramatic ending saw Wales battle back from 22-12 down with 30 minutes to play to win 28-25, with 23 points coming from the boot of No 10 Dan Biggar.