Wales' implosion in the final quarter of a match they looked like winning handsomely has left Wayne Pivac on the brink and many scratching their heads as to how the last 20 minutes of the 39-34 defeat to Australia came to pass.
You can read all the reaction and analysis on the defeat here. Below is what the UK national media made of it all.
The Telegraph (James Corrigan)
If that is it for Wayne Pivac in the Welsh hotseat then what an extraordinary way for the ejector button to be activated.
Australia’s almost unbelievable resurrection could well have spelt the inevitable end for the Kiwi. Wales were 21 points ahead with 20 minutes left, completely on top and seemingly presenting their beleaguered head coach with a lifeline.
In that calamitous final quarter, Pivac was surely cast adrift. Wales had put 30 points on Australia for the first time in the 114-year history of Test matches between these two nations. There was no way that the Dragons were not further to rewrite those record books by winning their fourth in a row against their foes from Down Under.
After all, with Dave Rennie’s ridiculous injury list, this was not the proper Wallabies. Rennie was not merely down to the bare bones of his squad but the withered cartilage underneath. Yet still they found a way to pull success out of a grave apparently dug deep in the Principality Stadium. And all the chatter as a disbelieving crowd left was of another impending demise.
Can Pivac survive? Should he? The Kiwi is due to fly out to France on Sunday for a World Cup recce, so if the axe falls it should be delivered with merciless haste. Never mind Pivac’s own feelings, because Wales have no time to lose if they are going to present a legitimate Webb Ellis challenge.
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The Guardian (Michael Aylwin)
It had looked as if Wales would end their annus horribilis with a win but this defeat will be the hardest to take of the nine they have crashed to this year. With 25 minutes to play, they were 34-13 ahead, after nearly an hour of confident, even consummate, rugby. Even with 15 to go, they were 34-18 up but in an insane last quarter of an hour they unravelled, conceding three tries, two of them to Australia’s exciting new winger Mark Nawaqanitawase, and losing two men to the sin-bin.
This is a crushing defeat for Wales, all the more so given how well they had played until then. They welcomed back some familiar faces, all of whom played well. The fresher faces seemed to be fitting in, too. Whether any of it meant anything, given the overwhelming number of missing Wallabies, is moot, but this looked a reprieve at least for Wayne Pivac. Now the questions over his future will be sounding rather louder than any whispers.
The Daily Mail (Daniel Matthews)
It is tricky to see where else Wayne Pivac can turn after this. It is easy to see where the WRU will look if – when? – the coach is ushered towards the exit door.
Warren Gatland was at the Principality Stadium on Saturday. The former Wales coach was on TV duty. Before long, he could be back in a more familiar role.
With 10 months until the World Cup, and Wales in a rut, Pivac now faces a crunch review into this woeful autumn. His job hangs by a thread. There is one obvious candidate to take over.
Cruel jokes and dark skies had hung over Pivac all afternoon. A malfunction to the roof of the Principality, in the hours before this pivotal clash with Australia, meant a three-metre slit remained open as the heavens emptied over Cardiff on Saturday. Welsh rugby, creaking foundations, leaks and leeks, nothing quite working properly: choose your preferred punchline. Gallows humour to mark the end of a miserable campaign – and Pivac’s tenure? It is hard to see a way back after this frankly incredible end to a gloomy few weeks.
Press Association (Andrew Baldock)
Wayne Pivac’s future as Wales rugby head coach was left hanging by a thread after Australia rugby staged a stunning fightback to win an autumn international thriller 39-34 in Cardiff.
Seven days after a humiliating home defeat against Georgia, Wales were cruising to victory with a 34-13 lead after 58 minutes.
But the injury-hit Wallabies somehow turned things around, scoring 26 unanswered points during the final 22 minutes as Wales captain Justin Tipuric and substitute hooker Ryan Elias were yellow-carded seven minutes apart.
The Australian - a "miracle" comeback
Australia came from 34-13 down to beat Wales 39-34 in an extraordinary Autumn Nations Series Test at The Principality Stadium which will pile the pressure on home coach Wayne Pivac.
Two tries by Australia’s 22-year-old wing and man of the match Mark Nawaqanitawase sparked the comeback which ended a three-match losing run on the tour including a historic defeat to Italy.
The heartbreaking loss for the hosts could be a body blow to Pivac who ends the year with just three wins in 12 matches including a first ever defeat by Georgia last weekend.
Read more:
Warren Gatland the leading contender to replace Wayne Pivac as WRU consider Steve Tandy too
Wales v Australia winners and losers as Tipuric incident proves so costly and Anscombe looks crushed
The key questions the WRU must now answer as a matter of urgency after awful year of rugby
