Here are the latest rugby headlines on Tuesday, November 22.
Former Wales stars question Pivac
Wales legend Adam Jones says he's surprised by Wayne Pivac's decision to omit Alun Wyn Jones from the Wales matchday squad against Argentina and Georgia and insists the buck stops with him for the team's results.
And former Wales forward Andrew Coombs believes Pivac got his squad selection wrong at the start of the autumn.
Both men were speaking on the latest Scrum V podcast as they picked through the wreckage of Wales' disastrous 13-12 defeat against Georgia on Saturday. Both believe the head coach is under huge pressure.
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Jones, who is a coach at English side Harlequins, said: "I know he's my mate but I was surprised how Al hasn't been involved, especially in that game. I think it would have been [helpful] to have him around in that second half with some of the inexperienced players. It was hard to watch and it was hard to go into training on Monday in London with all our boys.
"It was a strange selection for me, there wasn't every base covered. Tomas Francis hasn't been involved since that first 40 against the All Blacks. It was a weird selection going into the last 20 minutes of a game. That's where I would have liked to have seen an Alun Wyn involved or the hookers swapped, with Bradley [Roberts] starting and Ken [Owens] coming on."
Jones later asked: "Has it gone to like the dark days when Mike Ruddock was there and everyone was asking if he'd lost the dressing room? Has he [Pivac]? Has he got the fear factor Gatland had? He is the head coach and he has to be accountable for it all. Whether he stays is a question for the powers that be."
Coombs questioned Wales' tactics to put boot to ball so much in the second half and believes there are players not in the squad who should be.
"Adam spoke a lot about team selection but it's hard to pick the right team when you haven't picked the right squad," Coombs said.
"Leaving out Rhys Carre was a massive one, he would have been perfect for Saturday's game along with other players. I think second row is an issue. Adam Beard has played a lot of rugby and there isn't a lot to go with him at the moment."
Coombs added: "I think he has underperformed as a coach if I am honest. Three wins out of 11 isn't good enough. Losing at home to Italy and Georgia isn't good enough. Results like that are always going to put you under pressure and get the public asking questions about your ability. I don't agree with his squad selections, I don't agree with his gameplan. Saturday was quite alarming really.
"In my opinion he has failed in his role and Wales need to fix that quickly and look for somebody else."
Wales player's debt to Pivac
New Wales cap Josh Macleod has backed underfire coach Wayne Pivac to bounce back from defeat to Georgia, pointing to his time in charge of the Scarlets.
Macleod was just coming through at Parc y Scarlets as Pivac overcame criticism from some supporters to win the PRO12 title in 2017. Defeat to Georgia has left him answering questions about his future in his current job.
“Yeah, I owe a lot to Wayne," said Macleod. "He’s stuck by me from when I was young.
“I thanked him after the game and I’ll thank him again I’m sure but definitely I owe him a lot.
“I think the first year I stepped up we won the league. If that’s not dealing with the pressure I don’t know what is.
“I don’t really know how else to answer that but hopefully there’s more to come in that sense.”
Update on Dragons and Wales duo
The Dragons have been hit by the loss of a second Welsh international forward with hooker Elliot Dee joining Will Rowlands on the sidelines.
Lock Rowlands damaged his shoulder in Wales’ second autumn Test against Argentina and now faces a race against time to be fit for the Six Nations.
And the 41-cap Dee is also consigned to a significant lay-off having undergone an operation after breaking his collarbone against Zebre last month.
Dragons head coach Dai Flanagan said: “Elliot had surgery after the Zebre game and he will be out until just before the Six Nations.
“It’s a blow for him because he has been great since I’ve come in. He is a local boy who leads a lot around here, he is proud to wear the shirt and you see that in his day to day habits.”
On Rowlands, Flanagan said: “Will has had shoulder surgery and will definitely be out of the derbies over the festive period. We haven’t put a timeline on it. It’s a shoulder injury and it will depend on the rehab at the back end of it.”
The Dragons are about to embark on an 18-day trip to South Africa, where they will play the Lions twice - in the URC and the European Challenge Cup - either side of a league clash with the Stormers.
Scrum-half Gonzalo Bertranou is unlikely to join up with the squad as he is due a break after a hectic period of international rugby with Argentina. With Rhodri Williams struggling with a toe injury, that could mean a debut for 19-year-old Che Hope as Lewis Jones’ back-up in the first game against the Lions.
South Africa coach says 'facts will come out'
South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber insists Rassie Erasmus's latest ban will not affect Saturday's game against England and that "all the facts" have not been made public.
Director of rugby Erasmus has been given a two-game matchday ban by World Rugby in response to a series of social media posts.
The sanction, which prevented Erasmus from taking part in the win over Italy and this weekend's clash with England, includes engagement with media and social media in relation to match officials and comes a year after he missed the defeat at Twickenham for similar reasons.
World Rugby acted after Erasmus published a series of sarcastic tweets during the Autumn Nations Series, airing his grievances over officiating on social media rather than through the established channels.
Asked if the ban had affected the Sprinboks' mood or preparations for the England game, Nienaber told a press conference: "In terms of Rassie's ban, no, from our side we focus on rugby.
"We're a tight-knit unit and team, everyone knows what's going on, we're open and transparent to everybody.
"Sometimes it's, I don't want to say disappointing, what would the right word be? Maybe disappointing is the right word, when there's only certain facts that go out and then people from the outside, who only have those facts available, form an opinion and give an opinion on something that happened and obviously they don't know all the facts.
"It is quite sad if you think about it. I think if all the facts are out there that people will probably form a different opinion.
"I'm not pointing figures at anybody, I don't want to get involved in this, but for us as a group we know about everything, we're transparent, we share everything with the players and we know all the facts and unfortunately things went that way, but for us the main thing is to focus on rugby and make sure we prepare our players mentally to be ready for a big test against England on Saturday."
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