Wales head coach Warren Gatland has come out strong with his views on the fairness of the Rugby World Cup group stage draw, and those sharing their grievances over it.
Since the draw was made nearly three years ago, much has been made about the fact that the best five teams in the world were named in the same half.
It has been particularly penal on Scotland, given that they would likely have qualified had they been drawn in Pool C or D. Instead were pitted against two ferocious opponents in Ireland and South Africa.
Gatland, however, has little sympathy.
"It's not our fault this happened," he said.
I'd just say to the other teams they should have done better in the last World Cup, that's where the draw came from.
"You didn't hear us complaining in 2015 about Fiji, Australia and England and ourselves in the same pool, we didn't complain about that.
You're dealt a hand and you've just got to deal with that. I agree with the sentiment that the draw may have been done too early, it's been done too early in the past.
Whether the people in control of that next time can put the pools together a bit later, that's up to them. We can't change what's been done. All I can say, we were in control of what we're doing.
Warren Gatland Called Out For Rugby World Cup Draw Hypocrisy
Bullish indeed from Warren Gatland, and easy for him to say after coming up against a woeful Australia side and a Fiji team that was loose and unorganised in their match-up.
But, when looking at Gatland's comments from the 2015 World Cup, his hypocrisy is obvious, and it turns out he most certainly complain about how early the draw was made, and while Wales made it through to the quarters that year, he had plenty of sympathy for the teams affected.
“I think if Fiji had been in a couple of other groups, they would have qualified for the quarter-finals as well. It has been not just the group of death but the group of hell, basically, for all of us.
“Everyone is making a thing about the first home country to hold a World Cup to miss out on the quarter-finals but the stupid thing, as we all know, is why was the World Cup draw done three years ago? That’s just ridiculous as far as I am concerned. If they had followed the football model, then we wouldn’t be in this position.
“There are other people outside this who need to have a look at themselves and why those decisions were made and you have got to feel sorry for the people involved and who this has affected.”
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