Former Wales and New Zealand coach Steve Hansen has criticised the lopsided World Cup draw that will see three of the world's top five sides crash out of the tournament before the semi-finals.
The draw for this year's tournament in France was done back in December 2020, based on the world rankings from the start of that year due to the coronavirus pandemic. As such, the seeding for this year's tournament was determined by where teams were placed just months after the last World Cup in Japan.
The result of that is Pool A and B being loaded with the teams that currently occupy the top five rankings in the world - Ireland, France, New Zealand, South Africa and Scotland. One of Scotland, South Africa and Ireland will bow out of the group stages, while the other four face each other in the quarter-finals.
