Wales a ‘sinking ship’ under Wayne Pivac, says ex-England wing Ugo Monye

Wales resemble a “sinking ship” as they struggle under head coach Wayne Pivac, says former England wing Ugo Monye.

Defence coach Byron Hayward left his role on Sunday, while Pivac has faced questions about his own future.

“The ship is sinking, unfortunately, and I don’t think the players are happy,” said Monye.

“You buy into a new concept, you work like anything but you need to see reward for all the hard work, and if you’re not seeing that reward you start to ask questions, especially when your former coach is Warren Gatland.”

Pivac signed a four-year deal as Wales coach in 2019, with a two-year break clause understood to exist within his contract.

After winning his first competitive game against Italy in February, Wales have lost five successive matches and recorded their worst Six Nations performance since 2007.

By contrast, Gatland won the Grand Slam in his first Six Nations campaign with Wales in 2008 before leading them to another two clean sweeps, two World Cup semi-finals and a first stint at the top of the world rankings.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast, Monye likened the situation to David Moyes’ appointment as Manchester United manager in 2013 following Sir Alex Ferguson’s hugely successful 27 years in charge. Moyes lasted just nine months in the job as the club finished outside the Premier League’s top three for the first time in more than two decades.

“We’ve used the analogy of David Moyes stepping into Sir Alex Ferguson’s shoes, that was the position Wayne Pivac found himself in and unfortunately the results haven’t been there,” the former British and Irish Lions player added.

“You wonder if there’s been a breakdown in trust and confidence, and it often becomes chicken and the egg.

“But when I look at who’s departed and I look at the involvement they’ve had in the coaching set-up and Welsh rugby alone, that speaks volumes to me, there’s something not quite right here and I would not be surprised if more people were to go.”

Hayward’s departure came just a year after he was appointed and less than a week before Wales begin their Autumn Nations Cup campaign away against Ireland this Friday.

Monye believes Pivac could follow Hayward out of the Wales set-up if results do not improve.

He said: “I would imagine what the briefing was like after the Six Nations: ‘Defence is not quite good enough, we need a defence that is water-tight, just like Scotland. Who’s in charge of Scotland? Oh, [former Ospreys coach] Steve Tandy, who was in Wales? We’ve let him go?’

“I mean it feels like not slight panic, but there is most definitely unrest.

“I think we don’t often talk about coaches, rugby coaches, in footballing terms, but if performances don’t get any better and they don’t get the results they want you can’t imagine Wayne Pivac will be in his role for too much longer.”