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The WRU verdict on Wayne Pivac's Wales tenure

(Photo by PA)

Welsh Rugby Union CEO Steve Phillips has praised the progress Wales have made under Wayne Pivac, outlining how the WRU didn’t consider adopting a knee-jerk reaction when results in the autumn weren’t going well and some fans wanted the New Zealander sacked.   

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Wales have since bounced back, winning the Guinness Six Nations title and coming within a last-gasp France try of clinching the Grand Slam. It has left Phillips pleased with how the WRU managed the sticky November period where Pivac came under-fire.

Writing in the latest WRU weekly status update, Phillips, whose position as CEO was made permanent last week following an initial caretaker stint, said: “Wayne Pivac has the 2023 Rugby World Cup firmly in his sights and a comprehensive plan for Wales to arrive there at the peak of our powers with the full backing of the Welsh Rugby Union to achieve that aim.

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    “We meet after every campaign to discuss how we are tracking against any plan. We met after the Autumn Nations Cup. That campaign, as stated publicly by management at the time, was about giving players the opportunity to experience Test rugby and to give management the opportunity to see how they fared. 

    “Wayne was equally unambiguous about his distinction between the autumn and the Guinness Six Nations championship where we would be playing tournament rugby and results mattered. If silverware was the only measure then, of course, winning both the Triple Crown and the tournament itself can be viewed as ‘mission accomplished’.

    “It is vitally important that we assess our progress in a considered way. In professional sport it is possible to go from hero to zero and back again in a fortnight. To avoid knee-jerk reactions we measure progress against short- and long-term goals. Wayne, the management and the players are, by any measure, progressing extremely well.

    “Winning the championship this year was an obvious short-term goal, but we have been equally impressed by what was achieved this autumn when the stall was set to blood new players, improve strength in depth and bed in a new and varied approach to tactics and game plans.

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    “Wayne and his management team and players have delivered. I know I speak on behalf of the board and everyone at the WRU in congratulating them on their achievements and we look forward to following their continued progress on the road to France 2023.”

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    EllenMoody 5 hours ago
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    JWH 6 hours ago
    'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

    Do you hear yourself? Do you have any concept of world view? Have you tried looking into why people call Ireland ‘arrogant’? Obviously not.


    We started calling you arrogant when you called our captain a ‘shit Richie McCaw’. In New Zealand. On our turf. Don’t think that kind of behaviour really calls for respect, does it.


    NZ don’t really talk ourselves up, if anything the rugby does it for us. No kiwi goes in the media and says: ‘We are gonna win the RWC’. However, I have found many instance of IRISH media saying that the Irish should win, without a doubt. THAT is disrespectful.


    The All Blacks have played good rugby, even some of the best rugby ever, at many points in history, but I don’t think you could find a single instance of one of those players, or the NZ media, saying that they should whitewash their opponents. Ever.


    Now, onto your analysis. Ireland DID choke the QF. They beat the champions, they were ranked first coming into it, a lot of players at the peaks of their powers. Its hard to say that they didn’t choke. Obviously, their preparation was just not as good as NZ, and thats all there really is to it.


    If Ireland had repsected that ABs team and that QF more, maybe they would’ve prepared properly for it and won. But they didn’t.


    Maybe if Ireland had won their QF last RWC, they wouldn’t have to be in the same pool as SA and Scotland. I mean, its called a draw for a reason. NZ got third last RWC, so of course they should get a reasonable pool, and they were ranked pretty highly too. If you want to talk about easy pools, look no further than Pool 3 with England, Australia, Fiji, and Georgia I think?


    Now, obviously you don’t remember how that QF ended, so I’ll go ahead and rectify that. Ireland reclaimed the ball off kickoff and marched for 20ish phases into the opposition half. Savea then won a turnover, but the referee refused to give it, so play went on. Finally, at the NZ 22, after not giving up a single penatly in 25 phases of hard defense, Sam Whitelock, the most capped All Black of all time, wins the game with an incredible steal.


    Now, NZ players having a go at Ireland. Do you cry when you get hit after making the first swing? We all know Sexton is a prick on the field, its just the truth. And Ioane never backs down from a clash, so he thought he should humble a player who has never won an international knockout game who thought he was all that. Don’t really see the issue, its poetic justice really.

    83 Go to comments
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