Joke's on you, lads! Wales pose for another hideous team photo but Georgia derail hosts' World Cup hopes

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Wales lined up for another wretched team photo ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Georgia on Sunday night, but after the visitors snatched a deserved point in Cardiff, one wonders if the in-joke has grown old.

Injuries to key players Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen left the Welsh team depleted heading into the crucial encounter - and the way the side stationed themselves for the cameras forewarned expectant fans of the dishevelled performance that ensued.

Chris Coleman's side did the same routine prior to the 2-2 draw with Austria last Thursday, leaving onlookers questioning if the team were just awful at arranging themselves prior to kick-off.

Wales produced their best prank yet against Georgia - but the draw was not a laughing matter

Gareth Bale gave the hosts the perfect start with his firm header after 10 minutes in Cardiff

Bale had pleaded ignorance when asked if the photos were part of a prank ahead of the game

But deeper inspection revealed it to be a pre-match ritual of sorts performed on several occasions in the recent past - and the Euro 2016 semi-finalists went even further with the staged alignment on Sunday.

Just goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, captain Ashley Williams and striker Sam Vokes made up the back row, with Gareth Bale and Chris Gunter on each end of a ludicrously uneven eight-man front row.

Bale refused to give away whether the car crash team snap was part of an in-joke ahead of the qualifier, but the frustrating display which followed will have left the home supporters far from amused.

Georgia produced an effective photo and performance against their much-fancied opponents

Tornike Okriashvili celebrates scoring the equaliser and further chances fell his side's way

Wales rarely threatened after Bale had put them ahead with a 10th-minute header, cancelled out by Tornike Okriashvili, before the side ranked 137 in the FIFA World rankings hit the woodwork twice in a frenetic finish.  

As Coleman reflects on a disappointing night, the question of whether the dubious team photos are a deliberate prank may no longer be needed.

Bale laughed and feigned ignorance at the suggestion on Saturday, but scenes in Vienna before the game against Austria suggest the players know exactly what they are doing.

Wales, pictured ahead of their match with Austria, have gained a reputation for taking football's worst team photographs

Bale and Joe Allen look somewhat outcast in their team photo before the qualifier vs Moldova

The Wales team photo was equally unbalanced during this year's European Championship

The Real Madrid star wore a cheeky smile as he squatted down at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion as one of seven front row players, with only four left standing. 

Gunter was alone on the right, James Chester failed to put his arm round the shoulder of skipper Williams, while Ben Davies and Neil Taylor were along with Bale the only ones to place their fingers on the grass in traditional fashion.

The wider world first cottoned on to something amiss during the Euros, when Wales never lined up straight.

Wales produced another terrible effort before a World Cup qualifier in Helsinki in 2009

In this attempt, the Welsh back row appear to edge away from Craig Bellamy (bottom left)

Jovially probed about the latest picture nasty and whether an in-joke exists, Bale replied grinning: 'I don't know what you're on about.'

The question came back, so you are just rubbish at team photos? 'I think it must just be that, yeah,' he said, still smiling.