Monye says Wales are a ‘sinking ship’
FORMER Lions star Ugo Monye has dubbed Wales a ‘sinking ship’ and warns Wayne Pivac won’t be in the job ‘for too much longer’ unless results quickly improve.
The ex-England wing turned pundit gave a candid assessment of Wales post-Warren Gatland following five defeats in a row under Pivac.
The Welsh coach is desperate to arrest that run of form when his side take on Ireland on Friday night in the opening Autumn Nations Cup fixture. But Monye claims results and performances show the Welsh players are not happy and he fears unrest in the camp could affect Pivac’s future.
Pivac’s defence coach Byron Hayward was suddenly ousted from his job at the weekend, with breakdown expert Sam Warburton having previously left of his own accord.
And Monye, who played two Tests for the Lions in South Africa in 2009, told the BBC he believes Pivac could follow Hayward out of the door.
Monye said on BBC Radio Five’s podcast: “I would imagine what the briefing was like after the Six Nations: ‘Defence is not quite good enough, we need a defence that is watertight, just like Scotland. Who’s in charge of Scotland? Oh, [former Ospreys coach] Steve Tandy, who was in Wales? We’ve let him go?’
“I mean it feels like not slight panic, but there is most definitely unrest.
“We don’t often talk about coaches, rugby coaches, in footballing terms, but if displays don’t get any better and they don’t get the results they want, you can’t imagine Wayne Pivac will be in his role for too much longer.”
Assessing Wales’ five defeats on the trot, Monye said: “The ship is sinking, unfortunately, and I don’t think the players are happy.
“You buy into a new concept, you work like anything, but you need to see reward for the hard work. If you’re not seeing that reward you start to ask questions.”
Since beating Italy in his first competitive game in charge, Pivac’s Wales have lost to Ireland, England, France (twice) and Scotland and know they need to start turning their fortunes around in Dublin on Friday night.