The William Webb Ellis Cup - rugby's most coveted prize, presented to the winner of the World Cup every four years.

Veteran sports journalist Phil Gifford is backing the All Blacks to defend their Rugby World Cup crown after the pools for the 2019 edition were drawn.

The draw for the tournament to be played in Japan was made on Wednesday and placed the All Blacks in a pool along with South Africa, Italy and two yet-to-be-determined qualifiers.

Gifford believed coming up against the old foe South Africa in the pool stages was a positive for the All Blacks.

"When you start in the knockout stage you want to have had, I believe, one really reasonably tough game - not too tough that you lose it, but a tough game," Gifford told Breakfast.

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"So South Africa, who admittedly have not been very good at all in the southern hemisphere championship, but at the World Cup if you look at the record against South Africa, including 2015 and I was at the game at Twickenham and the weather was abysmal but nevertheless South Africa ran the All Blacks hard in that game.

"So that game [in 2019] will be a terrific challenge before they [the All Blacks] go into the knockout stages."

World No 2 England were again in a difficult pool, joined by France, Argentina and two yet-to-be-determined qualifiers. England was bundled out of the 2015 tournament in pool play after losing to Australia and Wales.

Gifford said the way the pools have been filled means the Cup is the All Blacks' to lose.

"It has to be the All Blacks, and I know that would be freakish should they win three times in a row and it sounds overconfident and all of those things, but right now the outstanding team in world rugby is the All Blacks."