Rugby World Cup: Fiji the losers in Wales' inexcusable Cardiff advantage

A disappointed Fiji side after their loss against England. Photo / Brett Phibbs

This business of England's World Cup having eight tests in Wales needs to be addressed. It's not right, as Fiji and Uruguay must surely be thinking.

World Cups in these parts have a curious history of being scattered to the winds. There is a nominal host who then divvies out games to the other home nations in return for their vote at the hosting rights ballot. Horse trades saw England, Ireland, France and Scotland win test allocations at Wales' World Cup in 1999. It was the same in France, 2007, when both Scotland and Wales were rewarded for not giving their hosting vote to England.

But this tournament is supposed to be different. England are the sole hosts and did not barter for votes. And yet despite England being sole hosts, there are eight games in Wales, which is definitely not in England.

Where this has become a nonsense - a major problem in fact - is that Wales have been allocated two tests in Cardiff. It's a problem because that creates the unfair scenario of the Welsh having two games at their home ground yet not being hosts.

That privilege should be England's and England's alone. This is their tournament and while being hosts has all sorts of associated pressures, it does also have the significant upside of home ground familiarity and all that comes with it.

Wales have the perks but not the pressures, a scenario that was entirely unacceptable to Australia who told World Cup organisers that under no circumstances would they agree to the Wallabies playing Wales in Cardiff.

It was an easy enough battle for Australia to win because as a well resourced, well respected nation with a seat at the top table, they were taken seriously. But neither Fiji nor Uruguay had the clout to mount a successful protest and two things are wrong about that. The first is the inequity it has created - of Wales enjoying a massive advantage.

The second illustrates that World Rugby - or World Cup organisers if a differentiation is required - still take every opportunity to dump on the lower-ranked nations all to keep one of the "in the club" nations happy.

It is inexcusably unfair that Fiji - who beat Wales in pool play eight years ago - have to endure this.