It’s all about performance, we’re not overly happy with the full 80 minutes
WAYNE PIVAC Q&A
WALES sprang a surprise as they named their team to face Italy two days earlier than planned. Here’s everything coach Wayne Pivac had to say after the team announcement...
Q: What different task is ahead of scrum-half Gareth Davies and what’s the latest on the fitness of Tomos Williams?
WP: Tomos is not quite ready after the hamstring he suffered in the Ireland game. He’s not far off - he’s running - but not quite ready to go this weekend.
Obviously, Gareth came off the bench in the last match. He’s been in the top two scrum-halves since Tomos has been out injured. We’ve just stuck with Gareth. He’s got a couple of things he’s working on. Speed to the breakdown is one we want from all our nines.
We want to move ball and get it away from those breakdown areas quickly. That’s what he’ll be focusing on. Obviously Lloyd comes onto the bench after training very well.
Q: What was the thinking behind the changes in the second-row? WP: Adam (Beard) has had a pretty big workload in camp and he was pretty banged up. So we’re giving him a break this week. He’ll come to Rome with us but he won’t be part of the 23. Q: What are you expecting from Cory Hill?
WP: A lot of energy. A lot of enthusiasm. He’s trained very, very well and that’s why he earned his spot on the bench. He made an impact when he came on. I’m sure everyone saw that. We’re happy he’ll have a start and freshen up the big fella, Adam. Alun Wyn (Jones) just rocks on as usual.
Jake Ball has been training well throughout the campaign, we feel he deserves an opportunity in this match and it’s nice he’ll get 50 caps this weekend.
Q: How is Dan Biggar faring ahead of Saturday?
WP: Good. He’s trained well today. A bit sore last week. He got knocked around a bit in the game.
We took him off as a result but he’s fine now so expect him to take his spot. Q: Were you tempted to rest more players?
WP: No, for us it’s about the performance and we’re not overly happy with the full 80 minutes yet. We’re doing some things very, very well in games.
I think most people would agree that we’re improving in different areas but we’ve still got a long way to go. This team is building a bit of momentum and we want to stay with that momentum and probably reward the players that have done the bulk of it so far.
Certainly it’s another opportunity to build combinations and work on our game ready for the last match of the competition.
Q: Does the Italian weather perhaps lend itself to more expansive rugby as you chase a bonus point? WP: We talked about how we want to play the game and there’s two very important games to go so it’s about getting results. Don’t expect us to be throwing it around willy nilly.
We’ve got a job to do and we’ve got to get on top of this Italian side before you see the razzle dazzle. It’s important we continue to use the 80 minutes and develop our game the way we want to against all opposition.
Q: What are you expecting from Italy?
WP: They’re obviously planning ahead and made a lot of changes in the autumn. They’re building a side over a number of years looking towards the World Cup.
You’re seeing a more expansive game from Italy. They pose a few more problems from a defensive point of view than maybe they did a year ago. We’ll go out there and make