The coverage for the draw is underway, here is who is involvedHere are the teams that will make up the expanded 24 team tournament.
South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France, Argentina, Australia, Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales, Japan are the 12 automatic qualifiers from the 2023 World Cup.
The other 12 qualifiers are Georgia, Uruguay, Spain, USA, Chile, Tonga, Samoa, Portugal, Romania, Hong Kong China, Zimbabwe, Canada.
The top two teams in each group will qualify for the new last-16 knockout round, as well as four best third-placed teams.
The teams are split into four bands based on the World rankings at the end of the November internationals. Australia will be the second-ranked team in pool A as the hosts, and one team from each band will be drawn into each of the six groups.
