Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has been told to prepare himself for the possibility of being sacked as the fallout continues from their shock Six Nations defeat by Italy.
A last-minute Edoardo Padovani try and subsequent conversion from Paolo Garbisi saw the Azzurri take victory at the Principality Stadium on Saturday. That result saw the Italians end a 36-game streak of defeats in the competition, a run stretching back seven years.
It was by far the most sour note of a Six Nations campaign to forget for the Welsh, who had come in with high hopes for the tournament as defending champions. However, an anaemic display against Ireland in their first match set the tone, and their 20-17 victory over Scotland was the only joy they had over the whole campaign.
Coach Pivac will have had a lot credit in the bank with the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) thanks to his team's success at the 2021 Six Nations, but that has likely evaporated now after a dismal follow-up campaign. Former Wales fly-half Jonathan Davies has even suggested that he might lose his job, as he told the BBC such an embarrassing defeat is a "sackable" offence.
Ex-skipper Sam Warburton said he believes Pivac will stick around, but warned of a need for a long, hard look at the state of rugby in Wales in light of this failure. "I think last year [Six Nations title win] will take Wayne Pivac through to 2023," he said.
"It would be easy to just look at the head coach and the players but I think Wales have been hiding behind much deeper issues. We have had a generally successful national team and poor regions, but now the national team is not doing so well."
Going into further detail on that point, another former international Tom Shanklin added: "It is a knock-on effect of regional rugby. For the last 10 years, Wales have been performing well and we've not worried too much about the regions.
"But now the regions are not working, international rugby is not working and something at the top has got to change. I don't see how we are going to get out of this in the short term. I don't think it's a short-term fix."
With the World Cup 18 months away, former WRU chairman Gareth Davies has written off Wales' chances of being in the frame for success. "We've lost ground to France and Ireland over the last six weeks, that's before we even start talking about southern hemisphere teams," he added.
And Warburton was keen to suggest a longer-term outlook if Wales are to build for the future: "We need to move on. I think we need to start picking a team which is going to carry us for the next five to 10 years. The senior players have been amazing and they're good friends of mine and I've shared some amazing moments with them in the dressing room. But I think we need to look beyond that now and start putting more faith in in younger players."
