Scotland suffer a seeding setback for the World Cup

sCOTlAnD have been denied the chance to improve their seeding for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

World Rugby revealed the draw will be based on the global rankings that followed the 2019 World Cup, long before the Covid-19 crisis hit, and not as they currently stand.

scotland’s poor showing at those finals in Japan, when they didn’t make it out of the group stage, dropped them temporarily down to ninth and into the third group of seeds. That l asted only a f ew months, however, with six nations wins over France and italy putting them back up to eighth and among the second seeds.

But those two victories and any subsequent wins in the scots’ six games before the end of the year will count for nothing after World Rugby’s decision to use out-of-date rankings. it had been expected they would wait until the Autumn Tests were concluded before agreeing the seeding system for a World Cup that is still three years away.

however, World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont r evealed t hat because not every team had played since the World Cup, it was only fair to base the draw — which takes place in Paris on December 14 — on the old rankings.

‘ Covid- 19 means that, i n the interests of fairness for all qualified teams, we needed to draw a line under the rankings at the start of the year,’ said Beaumont. ‘This is a unique time.’

Former scotland and lions prop Peter Wright understood why the decision had been taken but felt it was especially ‘cruel’ on gregor Townsend’s team.

‘We could face a group of death because of this decision with, say, new Zealand and the hosts France in it,’ said Wright. ‘As i see it, we’re the unlucky country out of all this.’