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'Who on Earth decided not to keep Shaun Edwards?' - Welsh fans not impressed as defence has become porous under Kiwi Pivac
France comprehensively beat Wales 38-21 in the first Six Nations warm-up match on the back of another star performance by scrumhalf Antoine Dupont in Paris.
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What started out as a promising evening for Wales ended in tatters as Teddy Thomas chip kicked Dan Biggar to ice the match with a superb piece of individual skill, France’s fifth try of the night.
The visitors had raced out to early 10-0 lead through a try to Leigh Halfpenny but the destructive Dupont took over for France, scoring two tries to lead his side to a 21-13 lead at halftime. He laid on another for Charles Ollivon for the first score in the second half to put Wayne Pivac’s men into a deep hole they couldn’t get out of.
The loss was Wales’ fourth consecutive under new coach Wayne Pivac, who had previously led the side to 1-3 in his first Six Nations campaign earlier this year.
Despite the match being the first in over seven months due to the Covid-19 pandemic, online many Welsh fans were quickly losing confidence that Pivac is the right man for the job.
After losing Gatland and defence specialist Shaun Edwards, their defence has become a concern for fans. They conceded 30 points or more for the second consecutive match which fans described as ‘disorganised’, ‘woeful’ and ‘very easily beatable’.
Welsh defence is shocking!!! Who on earth decided to not keep Shaun Edwards? They look slow disorganised and one dimensional… it’s not even a good dimension ? #FRAvWAL ?
— Ijan Davies Emrus (@IjanEmrus) October 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/OJ_Hay/status/1320105033158066177
https://twitter.com/darrensterry/status/1320105293842436097
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Disappointed is an understatement. Soul destroying match from a Welsh perspective. Well played France, fantastic effort. Utterly ruthless ??????????#FRAvWAL
— Ben Thomas Jones (@BenThomasJones) October 24, 2020
Wales have become a very poor and very easily beatable side under Wayne Pivac. So many players not up to scratch. #Wales @WelshRugbyUnion #FRAvWAL
— Sam (@TweetsBy_Sam) October 24, 2020
I’m at a loss as to what Wales’s defensive strategy is. I think the players are too. Missed tackles are one thing, but some rush, others don’t and it’s been full of gaps. #FRAvWAL
— Dai Roberts (@dairoberts) October 24, 2020
Disappointing performance from Wales. Feel like we’ve regressed a bit with a Biggar and Halfpenny helmed kick and chase game plan. Some very concerning defensive lapses with players shooting out of the line allowing quality players to pick off the gaps too. #FRAvWAL
— Bedwyr Gullidge (@BedwyrG) October 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/the_FLT/status/1320105048928563202
Pivac was supposedly brought in for his attacking rugby but so far we’ve seen none of that. #FRAvWAL
— Mr G (@Griffy99) October 24, 2020
#FRAvWAL any talk of AWJ going on the lions tour died tonight. Way way past his best and has been schooled all night. Wales are truly terrible Bigger, North, AWJ, Shocking
— Stu H (@SomersetBear) October 24, 2020
#FRAvWAL Wales are poor defensively, cannot retain or control possession, ineffective at the breakdown, poor physically, lack awareness or creativity and overall are pretty sh*te
— Owain Jenkins ??????? ?? (@owainsworld) October 24, 2020
Forget the railways, Wales needs to nationalise Shaun Edwards. #FRAvWAL
— Ifan Morgan Jones (@ifanmj) October 24, 2020
Genuinely time to get rid of Wayne Pivac. Wales are abysmal with him in charge. #FRAvWAL
— Mr G (@Griffy99) October 24, 2020
A few calls for Pivac to be replaced by fans were made, with one fan saying ‘the next few games’ is all Pivac has to prove his mettle otherwise a new coaching staff will be required. Many lamented the loss of Shaun Edwards, who had turned Wales into one of the best defensive sides in the world before taking up a role with France.
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Alun Wyn Jones, who equalled Richie McCaw’s record for most test caps in the match, said there were a ‘few more gears to go up’ for the side after loss on ITV’s post-match interview.
“We had a dream start getting that score. We had territory and possession in the second-half but France had us on the counter-attack,” he said.
“In these strange times, we’re fortunate to take to the field but we need to get better. There’s a few more gears to go up.”
Wales have a final round clash with Scotland to finish their Six Nations campaign to try and earn back some respect while France will play Ireland in a crucial final round match where bonus points and points differentials could play a part.
Ireland are sitting on 14 competition points, one ahead of both England and France on 13. Eddie Jones’ side will play the bottom placed Italy where a bonus point victory is on offer, which would mean Ireland need to do the same against France to maintain first place outright.
If Ireland beat France without a bonus point and England secures theirs, it will come down to the points differential between the two sides. For France to win, they must beat Ireland and better England’s result against Italy.
Comments on RugbyPass
Always reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
1 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
2 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
4 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
4 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
2 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
7 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
4 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
7 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to comments