Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
AS BIGGAR JOB AS SOLSKJAER’S TO KEEP ALL THE FANS HAPPY
Wales v Australia KO 5.30pm BY
DAN BIGGAR has sat next to Sir Alex Ferguson and had dinner with Usain Bolt while watching his beloved Manchester United at Old Trafford this season.
Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under severe pressure for his job and the 5-0 defeat by Liverpool – which Biggar watched alongside legendary former boss Ferguson – was the worst point of a poor campaign.
And Wales fly-half Biggar (above) feels Solskjaer’s pain.
As the man who plays in his country’s famous No.10 shirt, Biggar is used to quickly going from hero to villain in the eyes of Wales’ rugby-mad supporters. He hopes to send the country into Christmas on a high with a win against Australia in Cardiff today.
Biggar said: “We’ve got a good contact at United and with me living in Northampton, it’s only a couple of hours up.
“Usain Bolt was in the directors’ lounge. I managed to have dinner with him which was pretty surreal! I thought Welsh rugby was complicated, now we’re into a real battle with United.
“I don’t think Ole would
ALEX BYWATER
accept much advice from me. Everyone has got an opinion on the Welsh outside half or Welsh rugby. It’s like that at the minute with United – I don’t know why he bothers doing his job as he’s got 10 million people who can clearly do it better than him!”
Biggar has been a Wales regular since 2008 and he will his 98th Test cap against the Wallabies, which includes his three Tests with the British & Irish Lions this summer.
His superb ability and ruthless competitive streak mark him out as one of rugby’s toughest competitors but, like
Solskjaer, he often feels he is fighting a losing battle.
The 32-year-old was not at his best as Wales struggled to beat 14-man
Fiji last week and hit back: “I wouldn’t say I was frustrated. I don’t think you guys have been satisfied with me for 10 years. Was I overly happy with how I played? Probably not. Could I have played better? Absolutely.
“I am experienced enough to know if you play well, you may have some plaudits and if you don’t play well, people are going to come for you.”
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has seen his team battered by injury this autumn and the Fiji win followed back-to-back defeats to New Zealand and South Africa.
Australia, beaten by Scotland and England this month, represent a chance for Wales to finish on a high. They have won their last two meetings with the Wallabies.