Jamie Roberts rips into Pivac after dismal Welsh loss

Jamie Roberts has pointed the finger firmly at Wayne Pivac following their shock 13-12 loss to Georgia in Cardiff.

The humiliating home defeat to Georgia is only the Lelos second win against a tier one nation with the first coming in July, against Italy at home.

Georgia clinched victory in dramatic fashion with substitute Luka Matkava, 21 last month, who made his debut a fortnight ago, kicking a long-range penalty with three minutes to go.

“We’ve been in the changing room talking as a group and obviously we are very disappointed, it’s not the result that anybody wanted,” said Wayne Pivac, Wales coach.

“Seven days is a long time in rugby and we have got to make sure we pull this game apart, learn very very quickly and make sure we get the result against Australia that we now need.

“We put ourselves in this position and now we need to fight to get ourselves out of it. We need to make these seven days count and we need to come out with a much better performance next week.”

The New Zealander was appointed three years ago and former Wales and British Lions centre Jamie Roberts questioned whether he should continue.

“That’s the worst performance I’ve seen from a Wales team,” said Roberts. “I didn’t see any fight from the Welsh lads. The scrums at the end typified that. There was so much inexperience in that front five at the end and the fault for that is the system.

“I think there needs to be serious questions asked about the coaching side,” said Roberts on Prime Video. “We talk about motivation of players. As a player, yes, you play for your country and you are wearing the three feathers, but you also play for your coach. And to see a Welsh side come out at half-time and put in a performance like that is unacceptable. So there needs to be serious questions asked.”

“Wales were found wanting for desire,” he said. “That’s what I was disappointed about. That’s what the Welsh rugby public will be most disappointed about. You are playing at home, against Georgia. No disrespect to Georgia, but this is a game we should be winning.

“Wales have lost to Italy and Georgia this year, within a 12-month period. It’s inexcusable and a very, very disappointing result from a Welsh perspective.”

“There wasn’t any [life in the team]. Certainly in that quarter when the game was being fought for I didn’t see any fight from the Welsh lads. The scrum encapsulated that.

“I think the problems run a bit deeper. You look at the front five who were in that last couple of scrums – Jones, Wainwright, Roberts – hugely inexperienced. I would put fault in the system that Wayne potentially over the past few years hasn’t exposed those players enough to deal with those situations on the pitch, when it comes to crunch points in Test matches.

“He talks about responsibility. I think the responsibility lays with him as a head coach. It’s unacceptable, Wales losing to Georgia in a World Cup year.”

additional reporting RugbyPass