Scotland to play Ireland in 2019 Rugby World Cup opener

Lee Jones is put through his paces at a Scotland training session at the Oriam. Picture: SNS Group

Gregor Townsend’s men will play their Pool A rivals at the vast International Stadium in Yokohama on 22 September, before taking on the Play-Off winner on 30 September at Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium.

The Scots then face the Europe 1 team on 9 October at the 50,889-capacity Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuroi before returning to Yokohama to conclude their pool matches with a fixture against the hosts on 13 October.

Scotland will face the winners of the European qualification process, currently led by Romania, but with Spain, Russia and Germany still in the mix.

Pool A will be completed by the winners of the cross-continental play-off between the third-placed team in Oceania, Samoa, and the European runners-up in June next year.

England’s opening match will be against Tonga, with the Pool C clash being staged at the Sapporo Dome on 22 September.

Wales tackle Georgia in their Pool D opener at the City of Toyota Stadium on 23 September.

Bill Beaumont, President of World Rugby, during the Rugby World Cup 2019 schedule announcement. Picture: Getty Images

The winners of Pool A face the Pool B runners-up at the Tokyo Stadium on 19 October while the second-placed side in Pool A will face the Pool B winners at the same stadium the following day.

Semi-finals take place in Yokohama on the 26 and 27 October, while the Bronze Final is held in Tokyo on 1 November.

The 2019 Rugby World Cup final will be played in Yokohama on 2 November.

The schedule for the tournament was announced in Japan today, with the opening round of pool fixture clashes also throwing up a mouthwatering clash between current world champions New Zealand and their Rugby Championship rivals South Africa.