France 2023 bosses have said the Rugby World Cup will be "amazing from the start to the end" despite the uneven pool draw.

Michel Poussau, executive director of France 2023, says there is never a perfect time to draw the pools.

"The reality is rugby has never been as competitive," he said.

"Yes, at the moment you have number one to number five [on one side], but it was completely different a couple of years ago, and it might be different [come the tournament].

"That is a consequence of rugby being so tight in terms of rankings and the levels of the various teams."

The pools for France 2023 were drawn at the end of 2020, with World Rugby saying the early draw was because of ticketing reasons and guaranteed income for the hosts.

Back then England and Wales were both in the top four of the world rankings, but England have since slipped to sixth in the world, with Wales currently a lowly ninth.

Meanwhile, the world's five best teams - Ireland, France, New Zealand, holders South Africa and Scotland - are all on the one side of the draw, with just two of the five able to make the semi-finals.

However, Poussau is confident everything is in place to make France 2023 the best World Cup yet, with some crucial clashes early in the pool stages ensuring the tournament starts with a bang.

"All indicators prove that France is ready to welcome the world for what will be an amazing event," he added.

"The narrative will be we will have an explosive start and an amazing end. It will be amazing from start to the end."

Jacques Rivoal, chairman of Rugby World Cup 2023, added: "We are on track and we are very confident we will organise an amazing tournament.

"We have sold all the tickets and have 37 sponsors; the event is very, very attractive.

"First of all the sporting competition will be incredible. We have never had such a competitive tournament; it is very difficult to imagine now who will lift the Webb Ellis Cup on 28 October.

"The second point is the celebration of togetherness. All the stakeholders are very motivated to organise a huge celebration."

The World Cup gets under way on Friday, 8 September, when hosts France face New Zealand.