Former Dragons coach Bernard Jackman says Wayne Pivac could survive as Wales head coach by default if England secure the services of Warren Gatland.
Gatland is very much a wanted man, with the Welsh Rugby Union and the Rugby Football Union said to be interested in hiring him on a short-term basis amid uncertainty over their head coaches.
Autumn series reviews are taking place in Cardiff and Twickenham that could see Pivac depart as Wales team boss and Eddie Jones leave a similar role with England.
If that does happen, Gatland would have a decision to make.
And Jackman, who coached the Dragons in 2017 and 2018 and had previously played under Gatland, reckons the link with England will be a concern for the WRU ahead of the reviews concluding.
“Gatland gives Wales two big advantages,” writes Jackman in a column for the Irish Independent. “He knows the players and their mindsets, plus he would probably agree to take on their coaching staff, as they are all people he coaches before or knows. This would save the WRU a lot of money.
“The worry for the WRU is that Gatland is rumoured to be in the frame for England. This leaves Wales hanging on the result of the RFU’s review. If Wales sack Pivac they need to replace him with Gatland, or another big name to fill the Principality for the Six Nations and get the public back onside. There are no other big names available right now, so Pivac may survive by default, which rarely works out long term.”
He said Pivac and Jones would have had a “horrible” two weeks waiting to learn how events would pan out.
During the autumn Wales and England managed just one win apiece. England did manage a draw with New Zealand but they also lost at home to Argentina for the first time in 16 years and were well beaten by South Africa.
Wales’ campaign hit a low with defeat to Tier Two Georgia, while they also failed to put away a severely depleted Australia and were hammered by New Zealand.
The disappointing results have led both unions to instigate probes to find out what went wrong.
“Whether there is a formal review or not, coaches know when they are strong or weak,” writes Jackman.
“Since Pivac lost at home to Italy in the Six Nations, he will have known that his position is under pressure. He needed a stellar autumn to ease that pressure. Losing to Georgia in Cardiff and the second-half collapse against Australia means he is on thin ice, but he is in a different situation to Jones because Wales is a less attractive job than England.
"I remember the day that I heard Pivac had got the Welsh job. I was actually in the Vale of Glamorgan, where Wales have their training centre and offices for the rugby staff. We were due to have our monthly Rugby Management Board meeting — ‘we’ being the head coaches and CEO’s of the four regions. The WRU officials were running late, so we waited in the canteen.
“The WRU leaks like a sieve and it was common knowledge that they were picking the successor to Warren Gatland at that meeting. When they called us to say they were ready for us, we bumped into their performance director [Geraint John held the job in 2018] on the corridor smiling like a Cheshire cat. He told us they got their man, Wayne Pivac. I asked, are you sure he is the right guy to take over from such a big character? He looked at me with incredulity. ‘Wayne has been successful everywhere he has been,’ he replied.
"Wayne had been successful in the 2017 Pro 12 final against Munster — but, apart from winning some silverware with Auckland in 2003 and 2004, he certainly wasn't Pep Guardiola in terms of success. “
The WRU review into Pivac is to conclude by close of play on Tuesday, with the union hierarchy conducting a full debrief into what went wrong during an autumn which saw Wales lose three out of four games.
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