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Hayward's sacking has only increased Welsh fans' regret over losing Edwards
After Byron Hayward became the latest departure from the Wales rugby set-up, the decision not to retain Shaun Edwards is being bemoaned once again. One win from six in 2020 and a fifth-place finish in this year’s elongated Six Nations meant a shake-up to Wayne Pivac’s staff was inevitable.
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It is the defence coach Hayward who has been the major casualty of the team’s poor form. This comes just weeks after Sam Warburton also stepped down as a technical coach and Ryan Jones resigned as performance director.
But it is the position that Hayward held that has sparked a sense of regret among the Welsh public, as the Welsh Rugby Union spurned the chance to keep hold of his predecessor Edwards.
After Warren Gatland announced he would be stepping down as Wales head coach after the 2019 World Cup, Edwards could not come to an agreement with the WRU about his future and instead joined Fabien Galthie’s new-look French coaching team.
The decision at the time was met with dismay and disbelief by fans as Edwards was – and still is – revered as one of the best defence coaches in the game. But there was also a case that there should be no vestiges of the previous era in a fresh start under Pivac.
'We felt that we weren’t getting what we wanted from our defence, and so the change has been made'https://t.co/wG1p7mqima
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 9, 2020
But after a tricky start to the Kiwi’s time with Wales, the WRU’s decision regarding Edwards has been criticised once again online. Calls are also mounting for another approach to be made for the former rugby league star, but they are hopeful wishes more than anything else.
France have improved monumentally over the past year and their voracious defence has all the hallmarks of a team influenced by Edwards. With one of the most promising squads in world rugby and a 2023 RWC in France, few would want to part ways with Les Bleus.
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Gethin Jenkins is set to replace Hayward in the meantime. But with Wales beginning their Autumn Nations Cup this Friday against Ireland in Dublin, there is little time to make big changes.
WRU has made some terrible decisions over the years, but not giving Shaun Edwards a 4yr deal is by far the worst of them all.
— Nathan Lloyd ??????? (@NMarzy4) November 8, 2020
Should have offered Shaun Edwards the extended contract he wanted….seems all the more ridiculous now.
— dom.hurford (@dom_hurford) November 8, 2020
Why on earth we didn’t give Shaun Edwards a contract for life I don’t know ?
— Bill Johnson (@BillJoh84851507) November 8, 2020
So not giving Shaun Edwards that deserved 4 year contract is looking like the biggest mistake the WRU have made ever
— Smiley (@TheBoringOne20) November 8, 2020
Bet the WRU are kicking themselves even more for not offering Shaun Edwards a 4 year deal now.
— Jeff Vaughan (@taffv1952) November 8, 2020
Two big mistakes, not giving Shaun Edwards what he wanted and appointing pivac way to early, as soon as he had the job the scarlets form went down
— jonathan lewis (@jonfish1980) November 8, 2020
I think so, the WRU have made significant mistakes with the handling of Shaun Edwards and putting the blame at BH door for the problems. With the decisions that have been made we have gone backwards 10 years. It’s a mess
— Stuart Mander (@shrekfacethema1) November 8, 2020
Lets be honest, whether you liked his style or not , Gatland got results and the team consistently over achieved under him. Personally would have promoted Shaun Edwards, and let him build his own back room team.
— Gwyndaf Jones (@gwyndafpennio) November 8, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
The Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to comments