FALETAU’S MESSAGE: ‘WE MUST STICK TOGETHER’
TAULUPE Faletau has delivered a rallying cry to beleaguered Wales after their Georgia humiliation left Wayne Pivac’s coaching reign under intense scrutiny.
Pivac has now lost 19 of his 33 Tests at the helm – including eight this year – since succeeding Warren Gatland following Wales’ fourth-place finish at the 2019 World Cup.
The Autumn Nations Series finale against Australia on Saturday now assumes huge importance, as does an opening Six Nations appointment with Ireland on February 4.
The Georgians, courtesy of Luka Matkava’s 78th-minute penalty, followed fellow underdogs Romania (1988), Canada (1993) and Samoa (2012) in embarrassing Wales on home soil.
A crowd of more than 63,000 watched in disbelief as Wales failed to score a point following flanker Jac Morgan’s second try after 24 minutes.
No. 8 Faletau, who is set to make his 100th Test match appearance in the Australia clash, said: “We have got to stick together as a team.
“We’ve shown we can bounce back from low points like this, so we will look to do the same next week.
“We have got to stick together as a group, management and players.
“Errors kept them in the game, and we couldn’t put continuous pressure on them, so errors let them off the hook.
“They put us under a lot of pressure around the park.
“They are big physical men, and they showed that.”
Wales have won their last three Tests against Australia, but Pivac’s cause is not helped by the latest encounter falling outside World Rugby’s autumn fixture window.
That means players not based in Wales – the list includes Gloucester wing Louis Rees-Zammit, Saracens centre Nick Tompkins and Exeter forward Christ Tshiunza – are unavailable.
Pivac said: “We will go away and review everything, from preparation to the game itself, and we will leave no stone unturned in the review process.
“Every time you lose a game, it leaves a scar. We are in the game to win Test matches.
“Next week is no different. We know we have them in our (World Cup) pool.
“We need a big week and a very strong performance. “This is a setback. “We are not hiding away from that, and we are not proud of that result.”