‘WARRENBALL HAS GONE, WE CAN START LOVING THE WAY WALES PLAY’
GWYN JONES’ MUST-READ VERDICT ON PIVAC’S NEW-LOOK TEAM
Iam a rugby romantic. I make no apology for it.
I like to watch teams that play with the ambition of creating chances, including all 15 players, and using every inch of the pitch in their attempts to score tries.
In my mind’s eye, this is how I see the game and this is what drew me to the game as a youngster. It is the hope of seeing this type of rugby that fuels my enthusiasm for the sport.
That doesn’t mean I’m not competitive. I am willing to forgo anything in order to win a match. Sometimes you have to play ugly to win; sometimes it’s a street fight and style is immaterial.
However, to me the underlying philosophy is the key; I want to see teams going out in every game to chase that perfect performance, but who are prepared to compromise to win.
I am not oblivious to the reality of the modern game. International rugby is a clash of collisions, the winners of which get to control the game and who generally win. You need look no further than South Africa in the recent World Cup.
There was nothing romantic in their brutal, direct and defensive game plan that made them World champions. It was ‘Warrenball’ on steroids.
Wales had remarkable success during Warren Gatland’s tenure. They were always competitive and most of the time they would win. We have been spoilt over the last 12 years and I had taken for granted that Wales would be fighting for honours every season.
Expectation was high but Wales thrived on that pressure.
The team was always meticulously prepared. I admired the gallant defence. I appreciated the ruthless and attritional rugby that wore down the opponents and I enjoyed the Grand Slams and
Championships. But I was conflicted; I never loved ‘Warrenball’, despite the fact that it took players from four struggling regions and turned them into a world class team.
It delivered unprecedented success but I was always willing Gatland to open the tactics up a bit. I could never understand why he was content to grind out uninspiring wins against Italy and Scotland.
Why not try and open up a little because there would be times when Wales wouldn’t be able to bludgeon their way to victory?
The truth was that Gatland had no intention of deviating from his game plan. Even against bigger and more physical teams he still wanted to make it an arm-wrestle. Sometimes we’d win, but sometimes we wouldn’t.
Wayne Pivac secured the Welsh job largely on the back of a PRO12 title with the Scarlets. They played blistering rugby. It was high risk, high reward stuff that outscored opponents and they were irresistible at times.
A year on, the Scarlets were a marked team. There were fewer chances and they had to work harder to score those tries. But the way the Scarlets wanted to play was clear. Some teams were able to shut them down, but I got the impression that the Scarlets were always searching for a way to break free.
So Pivac is on the horns of a dilemma. How much does he diverge from ‘Warrenball’? Completely adopting Gatland’s game plan will not work, you can never mirror someone else’s style.
The defensive steel that Shaun Edwards instilled would be hard to replicate.
What Pivac wants to do is keep the defensive strengths the team has, the tenacity and the discipline that rarely allows a side an easy score, and combine that with some Stephen Jones-inspired attack.
Pivac is not a naïve coach. He is fully aware how important winning the contact area is, but he will want to use those little wins to enable a different type of rugby.
But this is where it gets tough. How do you put more emphasis on attack without losing that defining defensive intensity? If you select players for their edge in attack, then the team won’t be as good defensively.
Gatland would pick hard-working, dependable players ahead of those more talented, but less reliable. These decisions shape the team and once you shift the emphasis even just a little, the dynamic is altered substantially.
The transition will be challenging. There are players who have enjoyed wonderful careers at the highest level who will be asked to play a different way. Some will cope, others will struggle.
Any team that relies on skill rather that brawn will be more inconsistent. The team doesn’t know what its limits are yet.
Should they push the pass or not? It will take time to find the right players and the right balance. There is a danger that Wales will become like Scotland, a mercurial outfit who are dangerous when the stars are aligned, but generally brushed aside in the big games.
I do not see it that way. Pivac is a fine coach and I am delighted that Jones will have the opportunity to shape Wales’ attack. I am willing to accept that the consistency will not be there initially, but I am more than happy to entrust the national side to Pivac and his team.
It will be hard for him to win as frequently as Gatland did. And despite my underlying desire to see a certain style of rugby, I know that if results are not forthcoming, the criticism will follow.
But given a little time and the quality players that Pivac has at his disposal, I am looking forward to loving the way Wales play as well as loving the result.
Wales to beat Italy by 15 points.
Gwyn Jones will be part of S4C’s Clwb Rygbi Rhyngwladol team, which will have coverage of every Wales game during the 2020 Guinness Six Nations. Coverage of Wales v Italy gets underway from 1.30pm on Saturday. S4C will also be showing Wales Under 20s v Italy Under 20s from 7.20pm on Friday night (English commentary available)