For many, the 2015 Rugby World Cup will go down as the greatest ever held – but for Jamie Cudmore, it will always be a tournament tinged with frustration and regret.
In his fourth-and-final appearance on the biggest stage in rugby, Cudmore and his Canada team-mates failed to win any of their four pool matches despite some promising performances.
Several players and pundits criticised World Rugby for their treatment of Tier Two Nations as a number of countries were arguably undermined by poor scheduling and inconsistent disciplinary measures.
And the Clermont lock was another who was vocal about the apparent divide between the Tier One and Two teams.
“Obviously there is a difference between top ten and the other teams,” said the 39-cap international. “In the top ten, they get six or seven days in between their games and then guys like us, Fiji or Tonga have like four or five.
“It doesn’t make things very even. The playing field is very different.
“Plus there a lot of things with the discipline. Sean O’Brien’s punch against France getting a week.
“If I had done that, I’d probablt get about six months. There are a lot of discrepancies between the two tiers.”
