Reigning champion New Zealand was been pitted against South Africa and Italy in Pool B, while England has France and Argentina for company in its five-team group.

The Wallabies, meanwhile, will go up against Wales and Georgia, as well as qualifiers from Oceania and the Americas, in Pool D.

Cheika would not get carried away with what appears on paper to be a better draw, suggesting any hint of complacency could well prove Australia's downfall in Japan.

"When you're standing out there and singing the anthem, 0-0 all bets off," he said. "The minute you stop thinking like that is the minute you get in the water. That's how you've got to chart a course in tournament play.

"That's something that's different in competition, regardless of who the draw is against.

"You've got to plan with the lay of the land, those teams you're playing, know who the crossover teams are, do the homework, but at the end of the day it's going to be all about how we play.

"You've got to win seven games to get there and you put your best foot forward on all seven occasions."

Cheika is particularly wary of Georgia but wants the Wallabies to improve upon their runner-up finish in England in 2015.

"Australians probably won't know a lot about them but they’re a team being run by a few Kiwi lads and they’re on the up and up," he said. "Strong forward play, they’ve got some gas out wide and between now and 2019 we’ll learn a bit more about them.

"The reality is just how big an event the World Cup is and how important it is for us to go one better in 2015."