WRU give backing to Pivac after title victory
THE Welsh Rugby Union has delivered a ringing endorsement to Wayne Pivac by removing a contract ‘break clause’ that could have seen him leaving his post.
The clause in Pivac’s deal could have been triggered to end his tenure this summer were things not working out.
After a difficult start as head coach, Pivac’s position had been under scrutiny.
But a spectacular turnaround, which culminated in winning the 2021 Six Nations, has seen the Union give the Kiwi its full backing for the next two years, at least.
In an email to all member clubs, new permanent chief executive Steve Phillips wrote: “Wayne Pivac has the 2023 Rugby World Cup firmly in his sights and a comprehensive plan for Wales to arrive there at the peak of our powers, with the full backing of the Welsh Rugby Union to achieve that aim.
“We meet after every campaign to discuss how we are tracking against any plan. We met after the Autumn Nations Cup. That campaign, as stated publicly by management at the time, was about giving players the opportunity to experience Test rugby and to give management the opportunity to see how they fared.
“Wayne was equally unambiguous about his distinction between the autumn and the Guinness Six Nations Championship, where we would be playing tournament rugby and results mattered.
“If silverware was the only measure then, of course, winning both the Triple Crown and the tournament itself can be viewed as ‘mission accomplished.’
“It is vitally important that we assess our progress in a considered way. In professional sport it is possible to go from hero to zero and back again in a fortnight.
“To avoid ‘knee-jerk’ reactions we measure progress against short and long-term goals. Wayne, the management and the players are, by any measure, progressing extremely well.”
■ Six Wales players have been named in the official Six Nations team of the tournament.
Alun Wyn Jones, Ken Owens, Wyn Jones, Taulupe Faletau, George North and Louis Rees-Zammit dominate the selection which was voted for by around 1.3 million fans. Team: S Hogg; L Rees-Zammit, G North, R Henshaw, D van der Merwe; J Sexton, A Dupont; W Jones, K Owens, T Furlong, T Beirne, AW Jones, CJ Stander, H Watson, T Faletau.