As the 16 women's teams prepare to battle it out over those three days, the draw has taken place in the Russian capital, setting the scene for some mouth-watering encounters in the pool stages of the tournament and beyond.

Ireland, who qualified for the tournament last year, have been handed a tough pool draw alongside defending champions Australia, South Africa and China.

South Africa are ranked joint fourth in the Women's Sevens World Series while China are 13th overall. This is Ireland's first time to participate in the Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens.

The Irish squad that qualified for the Rugby World Cup Sevens included a number of players who featured recently in the Ireland Women's historic Triple Crown success, including Sevens captain Claire Molloy and five-try star Alison Miller.

Rugby World Cup Limited Chairman Bernard Lapasset, who was in Moscow for the draw, said: "We know from past experience that this is going to be an exciting tournament, full of sporting endeavour, passion, camaraderie and skill.

"As we continue to look forward to Sevens' Olympic Games debut at Rio 2016, I am confident that Moscow 2013 will be a resounding success."

The Women's event is split into four pools of four teams with the top two teams from each pool progressing to the Cup quarter-finals. The defending champions are Australia.

2013 WOMEN'S RUGBY WORLD CUP SEVENS POOLS:

Pool A: Canada, New Zealand, Netherlands, Tunisia

Pool B: Australia, South Africa, China, IRELAND

Pool C: USA, Spain, Brazil, Fiji

Pool D: England, Russia, France, Japan

Related Links -

Ireland Qualify For Women's Rugby World Cup Sevens

2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens