Welsh rugby is in real need of a boost. It was a long and painful end of the season culminating in the untimely passing of the magical Phil Bennett.
We have endured a series of body blows on almost every level. The humiliation of losing to Italy, the demolition of all the regions in South Africa and abject failure of any of the teams to escape the bottom half of the URC. The inability to win a single game of European rugby. The final ignominy came when a Welsh region conceded almost 70 points to an Italian team.
That was the state of Welsh rugby at the end of the season.
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However, there are some positives to cling on to. There is no way that Wales is that bad. We have too many good players, too many players that have proven themselves on multiple occasions to remain in this slump.
But turning things around will require more than just hard work and desire, which I have no doubt is present within the touring party. The way I see it, they need to concentrate on three elements to reverse their fortunes.
1. They need wholehearted belief in what they are trying to do is going to work. This is hard to maintain when confidence is low and you keep losing matches.
2. They need a clarity of purpose that everyone can commit to. This is also hard to establish if the underlying philosophy of how you are trying to play keeps changing.
3. The players need to feel secure and trusted so that they can express themselves freely. Which is also hard to install when the team keeps getting tinkered with.
Clearly there are some things that I think the coaching team could have done better to help the players deliver on the pitch.
Pivac’s first priority is to decide what sort of team he wants Wales to be. It seems to me he has fundamentally reshaped his thinking.
Gone are the days when Pivac spoke of evolving the style of play from the Gatland era into something more attacking and try scoring. Maybe the pressure of results and the difficulty Wales has had in those higher tempo and higher skilled matches has forced the re-think. And maybe Wales are going to be less exposed and tougher to beat if they do keep the games tight.
When you look at the games last season, the matches that were fast and open, like the ones against New Zealand, Ireland and Italy, Wales lost. When Wales were in a tighter tactical arm-wrestle as in Scotland France and South Africa ones, Wales did much better.
Wales are going into the first test with Dan Lydiate and Tommy Reffell as flankers. Both are fine players but both are defensive, destructive stoppers. They are there to stand toe to toe with the Springboks rather than players that would look to step around them.
They will want to contain the South African runners close to the rucks where Lydiate and Reffell will be most effective. The chop tackle followed by the jackal. A combination that worked well, albeit it 10 years ago
Pivac will be relying on the fact that these are the types of matches where mental toughness and calmness under pressure of Alun Wyn Jones and Dan Biggar can lead the team effectively.
What we can expect therefore is for Wales to look to minimise their errors, kick any possession that is slow or in their own half. They will be mindful not to be tempted to get outside the blitz defence unless it is lightning fast ball
In phase play, Wales will want a huge shift from both second rows and the hooker. These are the main power runners. Taulupe Faletau will have a wider brief and George North will be the focal point on the occasions that ball goes beyond fly-half.
It will be attritional, it will require great discipline and it will bring a tear to Gatland’s eye.
But the question is, will it work?
It has the feel of damage limitation rather than a side pressing for the win.
The Lions tried it 12 months ago and lost the series, though they did win one match.
Generally speaking, trying to ‘out-Bok’ the Boks doesn’t work. And this set of Springboks, with a 6:2 split on the bench will relish the contest.
To put this series in context, Wales are at their lowest point in years and face the toughest challenge of all the touring teams this summer. The Springboks are world champions, that are ranked number one and this will be the first time their zealous fans will be able to pack out the stadiums since they lifted the Webb-Ellis Trophy.
They have lost a few games since then but they are riding high in confidence after physically dominating the URC and in the process they have unearthed a new generation of players. These energetic and talented youngsters are now challenging the established stars for their places which will only drive the standards higher.
Wayne Pivac has got virtually all his players to pick from. This is the squad he will take to the World Cup. As he ends his third season in charge, he has three matches to show Wales is on the right track.
Gwyn Jones is a part S4C’s coverage of Wales’ Summer Tour. Watch highlights of South Africa v Wales at 9.00pm on Saturday night, on S4C and on S4C Clic.
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