'People higher up than myself make the decisions you are alluding to'
Wayne Pivac believes that Wales must “stay strong” and show belief after their Guinness Six Nations campaign ended in shambolic fashion.
A year on from winning the title, Wales collapsed at home to wooden spoonists Italy.
It was their first loss in Cardiff to the Azzurri, who had not won a Six Nations game in their previous 36 attempts across a demoralising seven-year period.
Although head coach Pivac has credit in the bank following last season’s title triumph, he has now seen Wales lose 15 of 27 Tests since he succeeded Warren Gatland following the 2019 World Cup.
Eighteen months before rugby union’s next global spectacular, Pivac finds himself addressing a second fifth-placed finish from his three Six Nations campaigns.
What should have been a day of celebration in the Cardiff sunshine for captain Dan Biggar and lock Alun Wyn Jones, who won their 100th and 150th Wales caps, respectively, imploded spectacularly as Italy claimed a stunning 22-21 victory.
Biggar said immediately after the game that it had been “probably the last chance for a lot of players,” and life is not about to get any easier, with Wales’ next three Tests being away from home against world champions South Africa in July.
“It is a backward step – there is no doubt about that, and there is no hiding from that,” Pivac said.
“It is fine margins, but we have to stay strong and believe in what we are doing. This group does that, and we believe in the players that we have.
“We will review the whole competition, look at the positives and negatives and make sure we build from this campaign. We have to, because if we don’t, it has been a waste of time.”
Pivac’s future will inevitably be debated on Welsh rugby’s intense public platform, and he added: “They are entitled to their view.
“There are people in positions higher up than myself that make the decisions you are alluding to. Look, I am not bothered by that.
“There is always emotion, and we wouldn’t be playing a game of rugby if there wasn’t a lot of emotion involved.
“You have to take a big, deep breath, count to 10, sleep on it, let those emotions subside and in the cold light of day reflect and look at the performance, break it down piece by piece.
“We didn’t play to our potential, we believe, so we have to find out why that was.”
Although the likes of Alun Wyn Jones, Josh Navidi and Taulupe Faletau returned from injuries at various stages of the Six Nations, Pivac did not have their fellow British and Irish Lions George North, Leigh Halfpenny, Ken Owens and Justin Tipuric for the entire tournament.
And while those absences must be viewed as a mitigating factor, the reality is that Wales lost four games out of five, scored just eight tries and performed only in patches.
“If people look at the squad we had in the Six Nations last year and what was missing, there are a few to come back,” Pivac said.
“We believe we have the nucleus of a group now which is building good depth, we add to that with a few boys coming back and we feel we are in a strong position.
“We’ve had a good look at a number of players over the last couple of seasons. What we would like now is to have a period of time where we don’t have too many major injuries.
“It is probably the lowest point in most of the players’ careers in terms of pulling on the Welsh jersey and the pride they have in doing that.
“A game at home against Italy, losing that was certainly not in the script, so it is very, very disappointing.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Thanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets 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?
11 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.
11 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 comments