1
Gatland's message to Wales fans who claim Scotland is must-win for under-pressure Pivac
Warren Gatland has called on Wales supporters to give under-pressure boss Wayne Pivac a break, suggesting that Saturday’s Six Nations finale with Scotland at Llanelli isn’t a must-win encounter for the struggling home side. Having succeeded Gatland at the helm following Wales’ fourth-place finish at the World Cup in Japan, Pivac has suffered four straight defeats following a maiden 42-0 win over Italy last February.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ireland, France (twice) and England have all beaten the Welsh, leaving them on a four-match losing streak for the first time since 2016. Last weekend’s 38-21 friendly loss to France in Paris – their heaviest to the French in the past nine years – was also the most points Wales have conceded against European opposition since they shipped 62 points versus England in 2017.
However, rather than stick the boot in on his successor as Wales boss, Gatland said his fellow New Zealand should be afforded a longer honeymoon period to implement his ideas, especially as the pressure for results ahead of World Cup 2023 pool draw in December was taken away by a recent World Rugby ruling.
With the international game severely affected by the pandemic, World Rugby decided that instead of using next December’s rankings to determine the seedings for the RWC draw, they instead opted to use the rankings as they were last January.
Wales had slipped down the rankings to sixth during Pivac’s tenure, but they will now be a top-four side for the pool draw as they were in the top band of teams as the start of the year. It means they will now avoid fellow band one team South Africa, New Zealand and England in the draw, a development that Gatland believes should have Wales fans cutting Pivac some slack.
UNBELIEVABLE! https://t.co/6hLP39WioT
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 2, 2020
“The thing is you become under so much scrutiny, not so much performance but under so much scrutiny for results and you don’t get a lot of time and you get limited preparation time,” he said, outlining the difference between Test and club coaching that Pivac is now experiencing after making the jump from Scarlets to Wales.
“When you’re with a club side you get a chance to fix that as you are trying to work on things and it doesn’t count your whole season out, but international rugby there is a hell of a lot more pressure.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s a big game for Wales this weekend but the fact that the World Cup draw put them in a position where they ended up in the top-seeded group, that takes a huge amount of pressure off them in terms of their preparation over the next couple of years.
“They need to forget about the external pressure and make sure they are totally focused on what they want to achieve firstly in the short-term and then long term. You can see that they are already talking about this being a must-win game. Is it really a must-win game?
“They are only going to finish fourth or fifth, but does it really matter? They can use this autumn period for building to the (next) Six Nations, developing players over the next two years, and the World Cup is another important factor. So forget about all the stuff that people are saying about them and pressure coming from the outside.
“You have got a new coaching team coming to grips with what they are trying to achieve and that’s challenging. The players and the coaches have realised that the step up from club rugby, regional rugby to international rugby is massive in a lot of aspects of the game.
ADVERTISEMENT
“For example, last weekend France kicked the ball 36 times and Wales kicked it 30 times. That’s an average number for international games. Not just for Wales and France but all teams, the All Blacks as well.
“When you play domestic competition that number is a hell of a lot lower and there is a bit more time and space. They are just trying to get the balance, playing a new way, and that’s absolutely fantastic. I hope they are able to achieve that and just make sure that they are pragmatic about the way that they approach things.”
The skipper of the famed 1974 British and Irish Lions has written a no-holds barred introduction to a compelling new book that counts the costs of professionalism in rugby ??https://t.co/6DH0LkRIUJ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 6, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
Lets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
10 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
10 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to comments