Jonathan Davies backs under-fire Wales boss Wayne Pivac but admits squad know losing run isn’t good enough

Jonathan Davies knows Wales’s horror run is unacceptable given their successes of the past, but he is unequivocal in his belief under-pressure head coach Wayne Pivac must be persevered with.

Wales were awful yet again as they were hammered 32-9 by Ireland in their Autumn Nations Cup opener on Friday night. The Dublin defeat was their sixth in a row.

Pivac is copping serious flak from Welsh supporters with his team on their worst run since 2012/13 when they had eight straight losses while Warren Gatland was away on a sabbatical with the British and Irish Lions.

“We don’t expect that whatsoever,” Davies said after another shambolic Wales display. “We’re not happy with our performances and we need to get better results to show the Welsh public.

“I don’t know if I’m fortunate or not, but I have been through a tough patch previously. I think this is the first time a lot of the boys have had a run of losses and performances we haven’t been happy with. This is character building and come the next opportunity we get, it’s important we get a win.”

Read more: Wales suffer sixth straight defeat in loss to Ireland

Asked if Pivac had the backing of Wales’ players, Davies added: “Yes of course. We enjoy preparing the plan he wants in the week. There has been a bit of change, but the change has been positive.  

“Our frustration levels are extremely high because we are not delivering.”

Wales were Six Nations Grand Slam champions and the fourth best side on the planet when Gatland left as boss at the end of last year’s World Cup.

But since taking charge, Pivac has won just one meaningful fixture against minnows Italy and after rugby returned from lockdown, Wales have gone from bad to worse.

Against Ireland they conceded 18 penalties which allowed Johnny Sexton, Billy Burns and Conor Murray to kick them to death.

Andy Farrell’s side also scored tries through Quinn Roux and impressive debutant wing James Lowe. All Wales could offer were three penalties from Leigh Halfpenny.

Pivac’s sacking of defence coach Byron Hayward in the build-up to the Ireland game also added to the sense of disarray around the Welsh camp right now.

“Our frustration levels are extremely high,” said Davies. “Indiscipline has been a major factor in the last three games we’ve lost. It’s cost us a huge amount of points and we don’t accept that at all.

“Test match rugby is a game of small margins and if you give teams easy points, you’re never going to win. Our indiscipline needs to be addressed immediately.

“Traditionally, the longer we spend together, the better we get and we are seeing improvements in certain areas. We are not quite there yet with the product as a whole.”

Davies suffered a horror injury to his left knee at last year’s World Cup which kept him out for just under 12 months. By his own admission, Davies’s career was hanging in the balance.

He suffered a worrying problem to his right knee against Ireland on Friday and was forced off the field, and now faces a nervous wait to see the seriousness of his latest problem.

“It’s being assessed. I am going through the recovery protocols and I will have to see how it settles down,” Davies said. “It’s still a bit early doors at the moment, but I have to make sure I look after it now. I need to get my leg up, rest up, and recover well.”

Davies won’t face Georgia on Saturday with Pivac set to make up to 15 changes for the meeting with Los Lelos in Llanelli. “It is the autumn series and we’re not going to change from our plan,” said Pivac. “There will be a lot of changes for next week which were pre-planned. That’s to give the squad a run by the end of the Georgia game. We’ll continue to build depth and continue to work hard.

“We’re looking to change what the players have done for over 10 years and we’re trying to change mindsets. It doesn’t happen overnight in my experience. We’re not giving in on this. This is not the World Cup. We’re working towards the World Cup and this is going to take time.”

Ireland travel to Twickenham to face England next. Captain Sexton – who came off with a hamstring problem against Wales – said: “We got found out a bit at Twickenham last time. England are one of the top sides in the world.

“They’ve got a massive squad and it’s going to be a massive challenge for us. It will be a great fixture to see how far we’ve come in eight months.”

Ireland head coach Farrell hopes to have Sexton plus Jacob Stockdale and Iain Henderson – both late withdrawals against Wales – back for England.

“We will need to be better at everything. Our breakdown was pretty impressive, but after our line breaks I thought we got a bit cluttered and could have converted more opportunities,” he said.

“We need to be more clinical when try-scoring opportunities are there to be taken.”

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