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Wayne Pivac has led Wales to five losses in a row as he struggles to make his mark on the team.
Wales’ Kiwi coach Wayne Pivac is feeling hotter after his team suffered an embarrassing 14-10 loss to Scotland at Llanelli on Saturday (Sunday New Zealand time).
Pivac has struggled to build on the success of Warren Gatland and was described by BBC expert and former Scottish running back Andy Nicol as the failed Manchester United manager David Moyes when he tried to replace Sir Alex Ferguson.
“I think Wayne Pivac has an amazing job. After Warren Gatland, more than Andy Farrell replacing Joe Schmidt, this is David Moyes replacing Alex Ferguson, ”Nicol said.
Despite signing a six-year contract with Manchester United, Moyes was fired after less than a season and Pivac appears to be going the same way.
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The loss meant that Wales fell to fifth place in a disappointing defense of their Six Nations title and it was their fifth consecutive loss to Pivac.
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Alun Wyn Jones was supposed to be celebrating becoming the most capped player in test rugby, but he was part of a Welsh team that suffered a bad defeat to Scotland.
Substitute hooker Stuart McInally approached the base of a rolling maul in the 61st minute for what turned out to be the decisive attempt for Scotland, leading the Welsh to a big drop since winning the Grand Slam in 2019 and reaching the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup. then in the year.
The latest defeat increases the pressure on Wales coach Pivac, who replaced Gatland after the World Cup in Japan.
“We are excited about the group of players we have and there are a lot of good players who are pushing,” said Pivac, who tried to stay positive after another sub-par performance.
“We certainly have to put a line in the sand and wait for the Fall (Nations) Cup.”
Pivac was asked at the post-match press conference if taking over for Wales was more difficult than he thought.
“I don’t think it’s any harder than I imagined, but there are good margins and we realize that,” he said.
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David Moyes was unable to continue the success that Sir Alex Ferguson had at Manchester United during his brief time at the club.
“Certainly right now, we are not consistently playing well throughout the 80 minutes. There have been changes in staff and in the way we want to do things.
“We know it takes a little time. But today’s game is one that we would not stop changing causing the outcome.
“It was more about our inability to play how we wanted in the last 30 minutes and the collapse killed us today.
“We would highlight this game as one we shouldn’t have lost.”
A try by mainstay Rhys Carre, a first internationally, after Scotland toppled a lineout gave Wales a 7-6 lead at halftime at the Parc and Scarlets, hosting Wales for the first time in 17 years.
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James Lang and his teammates from Scotland scored a memorable victory at Llanelli.
First-five penalties Finn Russell and Adam Hastings, both sides of Carre’s try, kept Scotland close to the Welsh and it was another penalty from captain Stuart Hogg on the final kick of the game that sealed a fourth straight win for the Scots.
Wales won just once, against perennial finalist in last place, Italy.
It was a miserable way for Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones to become the test player with the most international rugby matches, beating Richie McCaw.
Their 149th international match was played in an empty stadium as Wales is in the middle of a two-week lockdown due to the resurgence of the coronavirus.
“You could say we’ve had a six-month span between our last Six Nations game and this one, (but) there’s no excuse,” Jones said. “I said that last week, the easiest thing to do is come out of the closet.” with excuses.
“I thought we were better on the heads today, but the form has gotten away from us and it’s not good enough.”
The victory was Scotland’s first in Wales since 2002 and built on their 48-7 win over Georgia at Murrayfield last week. Gregor Townsend’s team had previously beaten Italy and France in the Six Nations.
“I’m really satisfied with the energy in the second half,” Townsend said. “We started the second half better, we had a little more force on our transport of the ball.
“We weren’t getting the rewards, but as the second half progressed we started to get the rewards on set pieces and carries. The bench had a great impact, so as a team effort today I am very proud.
