Here are the stories making the rugby news as the fallout begins for Wales and England after awful autumn campaigns.
WRU hold meeting as Pivac on the brink
Welsh rugby bosses are to hold a Board meeting this week where Wayne Pivac's future as Wales coach is likely to be decided.
There is speculation a small sub-committee has already met to consider an approach to Warren Gatland for a sensational return to the Welsh game.
READ MORE: Warren Gatland the leading contender to replace Wayne Pivac as WRU consider Steve Tandy too
The full Board have a planned get together on Tuesday, which was already in the diary, but where Pivac's position is also set to crop up following a woeful autumn which has seen Wales lose three out of four games. Saturday's defeat to Australia took Wales' run to eight losses in 12 Tests during 2022, with many pundits believing that spells the end for Pivac.
Gatland was at the game against the Wallabies in his role as a pundit for Amazon Prime and was as shellshocked as the rest of the Principality Stadium crowd as Wales imploded by blowing a comfortable lead to concede 26 unanswered points in the final 22 minutes.
Former Wales captain Sam Warburton, not one for making wild statements, responded to the surrender by saying he would be surprised if Pivac and the current coaching regime continued beyond this autumn campaign.
It puts the onus on WRU chief executive Steve Phillips and Performance chief Nigel Walker on what happens next with Pivac and who to replace him with if they decide to fire the bullet.
We understand Gatland is just one of a number of names being considered behind the scenes, although he is very much leading contender to return as interim boss taking Wales towards the World Cup next autumn.
Former Ospreys coach Steve Tandy has also been mentioned. He was part of Gatland’s Lions coaching team last year, having previously worked well as defence coach with Super Rugby outfit the Waratahs and Scotland.
It is possible Gatland and Tandy could even double up as a coaching ticket.
Other names said to be in the frame are Scott Robertson, Ronan O’Gara and former Llanelli head coach Brad Mooar. Steve Borthwick, who worked under Eddie Jones with England, and Bristol boss Pat Lam might be other potential targets.
A review is planned of the entire autumn and Pivac says he is heading to France today to prepare work for the World Cup next year, where he is due to visit Wales training facilities and hotels.
Pivac insists he remains the right man to take Wales forward. However, things could yet develop quite quickly with Tuesday's Board meeting set to be being a key part of that.
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Morgan insists players back PIvac
Jac Morgan banged in yet another stellar individual performance for Wales - then insisted the players were still behind the beleaguered coaching team led by Wayne Pivac.
Morgan, who scored two tries against the Wallabies in a blazing personal display, was adamant immediately after the game the squad were still playing for the current team bosses.
“Yeah, definitely,” he said. “We’re a close-knit group - coaches, players, everyone. As a group we work hard for each other. We work hard in the week and we work hard at weekends. We play for each other - coaches, players, everything.”
No-one could blame Morgan for the setback, with the flanker putting in a remarkable personal display that had Warren Gatland saluting him as ‘a one-man wrecking machine’. His 15 carries yielded 115 metres, with six defenders beaten. There were also two tries and 11 tackles and not a single one missed. ‘Sensational’ barely covered it.
But Wales let victory slip through their hands after seemingly having the game tied up at 34-13. They took consolation that it was a better effort than the miserable show against Georgia a week earlier but were still disappointed.
“We’re gutted with the end result,” said Morgan. “At the same time, we can hold our heads high in a way.
"We spoke about going out to play and to perform and right the wrongs from last week. We did a lot of it, but, unfortunately, we lost it in the end. It was one that got away. There were a couple of moments where we let it slip, but it’s on us."
Woodward demands English heads roll
World Cup winner Sir Clive Woodward has delivered a damning blast at the state of English rugby, with Eddie Jones and the RFU hierarchy in his line of fire.
Writing in his column for the Mail, Woodward didn't hold back as he assessed England's 27-13 Twickenham defeat at the hands of South Africa.
As well as Jones, RFU figureheads Bill Sweeney and Conor O’Shea were also slammed by Woodward who described it as "the worst week in English rugby history."
He went on: "The game in this country is a total shambles and the comprehensive defeat to a South Africa side without nine of its best players showed it.
"Losing to a second-string Springbok outfit came just days after the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport slammed the leading figures in English rugby for the way they run the sport. When are the leading figures at the RFU going to wake up and realise English rugby is in trouble?
"Everything is not OK. Eddie Jones will be permitted to carry on as he likes yet again. It was one of most depressing games I've seen at HQ.
"The England team is miles off where it needs to be. I’ve never seen people booing at the final whistle at Twickenham before. It really, really hurts me to see and hear that. I hate it.
"But at the same time, it also reflects where England are. Five wins from 12 games in 2022 isn’t good enough. It doesn’t reflect the talent that is within the English game.
"I don’t know where the RFU go from here. Sweeney and O’Shea are paying the price for not employing a director of rugby. An autumn this bad has been coming and coming for a while."
He continued: "I think Sweeney and O’Shea should be looking at their positions in the morning."
Of Jones' position as head coach, he continued: "Wayne Pivac has had a tough couple of weeks as Wales boss after losses to Georgia and Australia, but Jones should be under a similar amount of pressure.
"England are miles off the pace going into 2023 and a World Cup year. The Six Nations is next but in the state they’re in, England could easily lose at home to Scotland in round one. They also have to travel to Wales and Ireland. Things aren’t going to get any easier."
Eddie defends his position
Eddie Jones defended his credentials after he watched England produce a rudderless display to end a difficult 2022 with a 27-13 loss to South Africa at Twickenham.
It meant Jones' side went down to their sixth defeat from 12 Tests in the calendar year, which is their worst run since 2008.
The Springboks' dominance across the pitch was reminiscent of their 2019 World Cup final triumph and, despite England going backwards since their runners-up showing in Japan, their Australian head coach insisted they could have a "really good go" at next year's tournament in France.
"We want to win. We don't want to get beat by a big score to South Africa and don't want to have the worst record since 2008 so it is a problem but I accept full responsibility for that," Jones said.
"Obviously on results we are not happy but I feel like we are building a really good base to have a really good go at the World Cup, a really good go.
"A number of young players got great experience today and they'll come back better players for that. We've got other players coming back to form, some of our more senior players and we're not far away.
"We need to develop consistently. Test match rugby is about consistency."
Dyer hungry for more
Rio Dyer says he is hungry for more Test action after completing an autumn series that’s seen him score two tries. Dyer touched down in Wales’ 39-34 defeat by Australia, having also scored in the game with New Zealand on November 5.
Now the Dragons wing hopes to retain his place in the set-up heading towards the Six Nations.
“I’m a hundred percent keen,” he said. “I unfortunately missed out on the game last week. I was gutted.
“There’s no better feeling than going out and playing in a stadium like that — even just walking into it and being out there with the crowd. Even though we lost, the experience as a whole is unforgettable.”
Wales came unstuck against the Wallabies after losing their way in a calamitous final 22 minutes when Australia scored 26 unanswered points.
“I don’t think any of us are going to take away from the fact that we really wanted the win this week,” said Dyer. “Following the loss last week, we wanted to go out there and prove something. For the first 60 minutes we did take the lead in that game.
“But the two yellow cards probably didn’t help and we lost our footing in the last 20. That’s when they took control of the game and came back.”
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