Defeat for Francis on 50th Test cap
By Mark Stevens
14/11/20
Tomas Francis’ milestone 50th cap for Wales did not go quite to plan as his side lost their Autumn Nations Cup clash 32-9 away to Ireland in Dublin.
In what has been a dismal run of results for Welsh coach Wayne Pivac - he has lost six out of seven competitive games in charge since taking over from Warren Gatland after the 2019 World Cup - he remains defiant that he is the right man to take Wales forward in the future.
"The thing from a head coach's point of view in these situations is when you see the vibe amongst the players," Pivac said. "If you were in the changing room you would see a very disappointed team but that put in a hell of a shift.
"We had asked for that after the Scotland performance and a positive was the work we had put in without the ball and it was a hell of a defensive effort."
Ireland were always in control in Dublin, with Quinn Roux's try helping the hosts to a 10-point half-time lead. A try in the final minute by Ireland wing James Lowe capped victory for the home side and gave Wales' margin of defeat an unflattering look.
"We're concerned about any performance where we don't get the result and we've had a few on the bounce, which is why we're down," said Pivac. "From my point of view it's not about me, it's about the team and making sure we give them the best preparation and opportunity to perform.
"I think the preparation has been good. We're working hard at everything but it is taking a bit of time for us to click and eliminate the errors which are hampering us."
This is the first time Wales have lost six consecutive games since the team in 2012 and 2013 suffered eight successive defeats.
The 23-man squad, which totals more than 1,000 caps between them, is close to the group of players that won the Grand Slam in 2019 and reached the World Cup semi-finals under Gatland.
"We have got a lot of players who have come back from serious injury and probably aren't that at their peak," said Pivac. "They and we know that and it's frustrating and the changes we want to make are taking time.
"We're looking to change what we've done for over 10 years, change mindsets, and it doesn't happen overnight in my experience. It is something we will continue to work towards because we believe in it. It's roll the sleeves up on Monday and we're not giving in on this, we're working towards the (2023) World Cup and it's going to take time."
Wales struggled in the scrum in the first half, with prop Rhys Carre suffering a torrid evening against Andrew Porter. Pivac brought off Carre just before half-time in favour of Wyn Jones.
"We were disappointed in the first half in terms of our set-piece... it is not about individuals, it is about what is best for the team at the time," said Pivac. "The set-piece was under pressure, there was a scrum on our line and we did not want to concede before half-time so we made the change.
"We were not able to build any pressure. The line-out was malfunctioning and in the scrum there were infringements so we were unable to build anything which was similar to the first half against Scotland.
"That was frustrating but the difference from a positive point of view was the defensive effort and the energy we are looking for was there. Unfortunately when you are having to make those many tackles it is going to take a toll sometime in the game."
Pivac believes there were improvements after a poor first-half performance with Wales conceding 34 penalties in the last two games.
"At half-time we were looking to eliminate our mistakes in the second half and get the discipline under control because when we conceded territory it is hard to build momentum." added Pivac.
"After half-time we were reasonably positive and started to play some rugby and hold onto the ball. At the latter stage of the second half more individual errors crept in. That is something we need to address quickly."
Pivac said the six-game run of defeats would not affect his strategy, with wholesale changes planned against Georgia in Llanelli on November 21.
"That is to give the squad a run in the Georgia game, so we continue to build depth and work hard," continued Pivac. "It's not as if we've been beaten on a regular basis by teams that are much better than us, we're helping the opposition by giving them too many easy ins and hurting ourselves. It's something we're working hard to rectify as quickly as we can."