Wales faceWorld Cup woe if Six Nations ends on a low
Wales will drop out of the top eight in the rankings and face another World Cup group of death if they lose their final two Six Nations matches.
Saturday’s 29-13 defeat to Scotland has seen them slip two places to seventh, leaving them precariously positioned with hugely testing games against Ireland and France to come.
If they suffer further losses in those two matches, they will plummet down to ninth, creating the World Cup doomsday scenario.
The pool draw for the 2019 tournament in Japan will take place in May based on rankings at the end of the Six Nations.
If Wales are down in ninth, they will be placed in a group alongside two sides from the top eight, as was the case for the 2015 global jamboree.
On that occasion, they were pooled with hosts England and twotimes winners Australia, yet still managed to reach the quarter-finals by famously beating Stuart Lancaster’s team at Twickenham.
However, it’s not a route they will want to go down again.
They would be joined by one team from the top four and one side ranked 5-8.
That could see them grouped with New Zealand and South Africa, for example.
So claiming a victory in one of the two remaining Championship matches is absolutely crucial.
If they fail to do so, both France and Argentina will go above them into the top eight, with Wales marooned in ninth. Here are the various scenarios:
If Wales lose against Ireland, but beat France, they will be 7th.
If Wales beat Ireland, but lose to France, they will be 8th.
If Wales lose to Ireland and France, with France beating Italy, Wales will be 9th.
If Wales lose to Ireland and France, but France lose to Italy, Wales will still be 9th.