Amid all the conjecture about the future of Wayne Pivac in the aftermath of Wales’ defeat to Australia, former Wallaby coach Michael Cheika made arguably the most salient point. If the Welsh Rugby Union decide to sack Pivac, said Cheika, they must be as confident as they can possibly be that his replacement is going to improve the fortunes of the team.
Cheika talked about not just a new coach but the “infrastructure” around the group, the assistants, the specialists, those responsible for squad culture. It was a reminder of just how bold a move it will be for the WRU to ditch Pivac and his henchmen abruptly, even if it is the right one.
It would have been tempting to conclude that previous sentence with the words “10 months out from a World Cup”. But the governing body would be mistaken in allowing that tournament to cloud their thinking in the coming days and weeks. The best Wales will do in France next year is reach the quarter-finals, regardless of who is in charge. They are in transition. Too many of their most important players are the wrong side of 30. It will not be Wales’ time. Instead, if there is any vision lurking in the corridors of WRU power, it should be focusing on the World Cup of 2027.
