Pivac needs perfect pick for Wallabies clash after getting lucky against Fiji
THE score is kept in rugby because the sport is first and foremost about winning, but I’m not convinced Wayne Pivac would have slept soundly after Wales’ 38-23 success over Fiji.
While six home tries and a 15-point margin of victory suggests a comfortable afternoon, anyone who watched the game will know it was anything but a stroll for Pivac’s side.
Fiji would have won had they kept a full complement of players on the pitch.
They should have won.
Of course, discipline is part of the game and it’s not the first time Fiji have had problems on that front.
But even when the islanders were two players down, Wales struggled to put them away. It required a huge effort and it’s an understatement to say that not every Welsh player came out of the game with his reputation enhanced.
Did Wales take Fiji too lightly? Pivac will doubtless say ‘no’, but there were experiments in selection. One we didn’t get to see, as Josh Adams sustained an injury minutes before kick off and had to pull out after being named in the centre.
The call to play three opensides in the back row didn’t go well, resulting in a lack of balance.
I thought it unwise in the first place, because at Test level things unfold so quickly that players have to rely on their instincts: often, there just isn’t time to think. The whole of the back row had quiet games and didn’t do themselves any favours, with Wales second best at the breakdown.
Warren Gatland got away with playing two opensides in his breakaway trio at certain points in Justin Tipuric and Sam Warburton but he had Taulupe Faletau at No. 8. Also, by that stage of his career Warburton was edging towards being a six-and a-half rather than an out-and-out seven.
But on Sunday there were no such complementary selections.
The defence in general wasn’t great. Wales were slipping off tackles and while you have to give Fiji credit for their handling and adventure, Pivac’s side will know they’ll need to improve considerably before the World Cup pool match between the sides in France in 2023.
In the short term, there’s Australia to be faced this coming Saturday in a game that will define Wales’ autumn campaign.
Pivac’s selection will tell us much about what he’s learned from the past few weeks.
I think he has to start with Liam Williams at full-back after his display against Fiji.
Johnny McNicholl may have played well in the first two games,
but Williams barely put a foot wrong against the islanders and was a deserved man of the match.
Alongside him, I’d go with Josh Adams, assuming he’s fit, and Louis Rees-Zammit.
Rees-Zammit hasn’t been at his best in this series. I remember talking to an All Black who said he’d seen more than a few players suffering from second-season blues, which occur when a player hits a wall after a bright first campaign.
Maybe we have to factor in that the following season can be hard for any player who’s been on a Lions tour, while Rees-Zammit is still only 20.
But the try he scored against Fiji once again showcased his pace.
I played in the same Wales team as JJ Williams and he was lightning quick as you’d expect an international sprinter to be. Rees-Zammit has similar top-end gas which can be impossible to defend against, so I’d keep in the team.
The centre calls will be intriguing, with no-one truly standing out there for Wales this autumn. Maybe Jonathan Davies’ experience should just swing him a place, perhaps alongside his Scarlets team-mate Johnny Williams.
My half-backs would be Rhys Priestland and Tomos Williams.
Priestland should have started against New Zealand. As it was, he performed really well off the bench, underlining that he still has what it takes to operate at the top level. He makes good decisions and his ability to assess situations instantly buys him priceless fractions of seconds.
Dan Biggar had a poor game against Fiji, and Priestland deserves a chance to show what he can do from the off. Bath have struggled since he left for Cardiff in the summer, missing his class and control. For me, he’s the man Wales need to see out this series.
Up front, Wales should go with what they know are the best. If Tomas Francis is fit, pick him at tighthead. If Wyn Jones is ready to go, choose him at loose-head.
Pivac has raised questions about Jones’ fitness, but it surely shouldn’t be beyond a Test Lion to hold a scrum for 40 minutes or so.
Without those two against Fiji, Wales failed to gain the upper hand in the scrums. In fact, Fiji might just have shaded matters. Pivac needs to address it because although Australia are nowhere near the same set-piece force as South Africa, the last thing Wales need to be doing is handing penalties and potential points on a plate to the Wallabies.
Rhys Carre is not on a level with Wyn Jones as a scrummager, and Dillon Lewis, for all that he offers in the loose and at the breakdown, is not a scrummaging prop.
If I were Pivac, then, I’d be concerned about our lack of strength in depth at prop.
My locks would be Adam Beard and, assuming Will Rowlands is ruled out after his head knock against Fiji, Seb Davies. The other options are Ben Carter and Rhys Davies, but neither has experience at this level. Davies, by contrast, has been around the international scene for a while.
Wales missed Aaron Wainwright badly against Fiji because he has the specialist skills of a number eight. Taine Basham is an openside and that’s where he should be chosen, with Ellis Jenkins at No. 6.
It hasn’t been a great campaign for Wales, albeit they are missing a lot of players. It shows how important some of those absent guys are to the national cause in terms of not just their experience but also their leadership.
Still, there’s one game left and a win would raise spirits heading towards the Six Nations.
A defeat would swell the numbers on Pivac’s case.
Such is life for a Wales rugby coach. Deep down, Pivac will know what’s required, but he needs to pick the right team and he needs his players to perform at their best.
Scotland have beaten Australia this autumn, so have England.
Even given the number of players off limits to Pivac, Saturday is an important game for Wales.