PARIS: France have officially secured their place in the top four of the International Rugby Board (IRB) rankings to ensure their chances of a favourable 2015 World Cup draw along with New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
France on Saturday completed a sweep of their autumn series matches by beating Samoa 22-14 after already seeing off Australia 33-6 and Argentina 39-22.
The top four ranked sides following the completion of the end of year internationals will be the top seeds for the pool draw on December 3 and kept apart in the early stages of the competition that will be staged in England.
France were not seeded in the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand where the system was introduced for the first time.
England, who were seeded in 2011, are fifth, four points behind France after their 16-15 defeat to South Africa, and cannot catch the French even if they were to beat world champions New Zealand in Twickenham on Saturday.
If Wales fail to beat Australia at home on Saturday they will finish tenth and find themselves in the same part of the draw as Argentina, who dropped from sixth to ninth after their 46-24 loss in Ireland. AFP
