The draw for the 2007 World Cup will be made in Fado restaurant on Dawson Street in Dublin this lunchtime and, for the first time, those outside the International Board's inner sanctum will be able to watch.

Not the least remarkable aspect of the previous five World Cups dating back to 1987 has been the arrangement of pools almost on a nod-and-a-wink basis, but the sport has finally accepted the need for something more transparent. Instead of a couple of IRB committee men, some ping-pong balls and a Tesco carrier bag, therefore, today's action will be broadcast live on the Internet.

Ireland have found a place in the four-team group of second seeds by virtue of reaching the quarter-finals of last year's World Cup in Australia, despite their mild exit at that stage at the hands of the French.

They are joined in that group by South Africa, Wales and Scotland. The top tier includes, predictably enough, Australia, France, New Zealand and the holders, England.

The French coach, Bernard Laporte, and past-and-present captains Fabien Galthie and Fabien Pelous will also be flying the flag for the host nation of the tournament, with the world champions represented by England's coach Andy Robinson and flanker Richard Hill.

However, the absence of Clive Woodward, who has a prior engagement in Manchester, would suggest he rates England's summer tour as a higher priority than a draw for a tournament more than three years hence.

Admittedly the qualifying tournament is already under way, with the Arabian Gulf having beaten Kazakhstan 14-13 in Doha last month, but the identity of 12 of the 20 competing teams will not be known for at least another two years.

Planet rugby, though, remains small enough for the main challengers to be immediately obvious, and France and England will be less bothered about the eventual African qualifiers than about more familiar foes.

England, for instance, have a one-in-four chance of being drawn in the same pool as South Africa, just as they were last autumn. Who knows what state Springbok rugby will be in by 2007, but of the available options - Ireland, Wales and Scotland are the others - there is not much doubt the English would prefer the currently less-than-bonny Scots.

There is also the little matter of Argentina, who will be expected to tango confidently into the top qualifying slot from the Americas and, as such, satisfy the need on these occasions for a "dangerous floater".

If Woodward's team are drawn alongside both the Springboks and the Pumas, the "pool of death" cliches will also have to be revived, but the alternative might be even scarier.

Should England be bracketed with, say, Scotland, Fiji, Romania and Portugal - all games they should, with respect, win comfortably - it would reopen the familiar debate about the true strength in depth of Test rugby.

Ulster's IRB chairman, Dr Syd Millar, yesterday said, however, that the formation of a combined Pacific Islands team would prove a catalyst for improvement in Samoa, Fiji and Tonga, and he also revealed that Japan's inclusion in an enlarged Super 15 tournament was among options being seriously discussed.

"If you look at the soccer World Cup over the years, it has developed from very few teams winning it in the early years. We know it's going to take work, but extending the Super 12 to something like a Super 15 could help Japan or the Pacific islands.

"We've looked at the various options and that's one of them. Our colleagues in the antipodes and South Africa are not against that sort of thing."

Particularly, he might have added, if the money is right.

This time around, though, no serious thought was given to increasing or decreasing the number of competing World Cup sides, the official view being that up-and-coming nations not yet exposed to the realities of top-level international rugby will benefit more from regional qualifying tournaments than 100-point thrashings against the big boys.

Those still hopeful that organisers of a World Cup hosted by France will ditch the crass idea of playing games in Wales, Scotland and Ireland are also doomed to disappointment.

"Maybe it is better to have it in one country, but we also have to think of other things," insisted Millar, conscious that shared tournaments have consistently failed to match those with a single host nation. "We think this will boost gate revenue, sponsorship and benefit the game in other countries. We had a great competition in Australia, but distance between venues was one of the reasons why we had bums on seats in the stadiums."

Serving extra croissants at Lansdowne Road, however, is not quite the real thing, and perhaps the IRB will see sense when it comes to the 2011 tournament. Japan, New Zealand and South Africa are all apparently keen to bid, with Millar anticipating a final decision "in the spring of 2005".