Rugby-Defiant Pivac hails Wales performance despite Australia defeat

Wales were cruising to victory as they led 34-13 after 58 minutes but having been reduced to 13 players when captain Justin Tipuric and hooker Ryan Elias were sent to the sin-bin, they battled to contain the visitors in last quarter of the game. "That’s for someone else to comment on," Pivac said when asked if he would stay on.


Reuters | Updated: 27-11-2022 02:34 IST | Created: 27-11-2022 00:05 IST
Rugby-Defiant Pivac hails Wales performance despite Australia defeat
Image Credit: Flickr

Wales coach Wayne Pivac was defiant as his side slipped to a ninth defeat in 12 tests this year when they blew a 21-point lead in the 39-34 loss to Australia at the Principality Stadium on Saturday. Wales were cruising to victory as they led 34-13 after 58 minutes but having been reduced to 13 players when captain Justin Tipuric and hooker Ryan Elias were sent to the sin-bin, they battled to contain the visitors in last quarter of the game.

"That’s for someone else to comment on," Pivac said when asked if he would stay on. "I’m contracted until the World Cup." Pivac admitted the yellow cards were a blow to his side, and felt his team were well on top before their numerical disadvantage.

"If you talk about before that, we played some excellent rugby," he said. "We took advantage of their indiscretions. We got points on the board and then it went pear-shaped. They reversed the roles. "It was gutting for us because of the work we’d put in and the players wanted to go out on a good note. Even fighting for the turnover at the end showed that.

"For 65 minutes, I thought we were outstanding. It’s disappointing, the result, but there was a lot of good stuff for us." Pivac feels it is fine margins for his side, despite their poor international season.

"It’s quite funny. We were talking about luck in the changing room. It feels like it hasn’t gone our way at the moment. "We have to keep working because we feel there was a marked improvement in our performance there. It’s one of those ones which is very tough to take."

Tipuric backed Pivac’s view and believes there were plenty of positives despite the loss. "It was probably the most enjoyable rugby we’ve played in a long time in that first half. It’s an 80 minutes game and for 60 minutes we looked outstanding. Australia come out there to be physical," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Give Feedback