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Ben James

How every one of Wayne Pivac's ruthless decisions has worked out

Wayne Pivac has come in for more than his fair share of criticism during his time as Wales coach.

Despite delivering a Six Nations title last year, it's felt like discontent has never been that far away from the minds of the Welsh public - with everything that could be possibly be levelled at Pivac usually being thrown his way.

One area in particular that tends to divide opinion and draw flak is his willingness to make bold and ruthless decisions.

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This Six Nations has been no different, with a host of big calls made by the Wales coach.

We've seen star names like Louis Rees-Zammit, Wyn Jones and Taine Basham all drop out of the starting side, while there's been surprise selections such as Seb Davies at blindside flanker to face France or Josh Adams in midfield against Ireland.

But how have his bold selections worked out to date?

Dropping George North - then moving him to centre

It was clear early on in Pivac's reign that moving North was a serious option - picking him to start against Italy in his first competitive match in charge.

But, for the rest of the tournament, he remained on the wing.

By the autumn though, the emergence of Louis Rees-Zammit was too tough to ignore. There seemingly wasn't space on either wing for the Lions star.

And so, Pivac did something Warren Gatland never did. He dropped North from the starting XV. He even called it an easy call.

At that point, the knives were out for Pivac in certain corners.

In fairness to him though, it had the desired effect.

North came back hungrier and better, determined to get back into the side and Pivac rewarded him with an extended run in the 13 jersey.

Having been out injured for the best part of a year following last year's Six Nations triumph, it's still apparent how much Wales miss North in their midfield.

Sacking Byron Hayward

Following in the footsteps of Shaun Edwards as defence coach was never going to be an easy task for Hayward - especially when the discourse around whether Edwards could have stayed was so public.

Ultimately, Edwards ended up in France, despite the prospect of going to Wigan or staying in Wales, and Hayward took on his job.

From the off, his vision was clear.

He didn't want to rip up what Edwards had done, but build upon it - looking to place the decision-making more in the hands of the players when it came to breakdown policy and little things like that.

However, there was evidently a reason why Edwards kept his defensive system so simple. Despite the high ceiling that an ambitious defensive system like Hayward's could reach, it just wasn't realistic - with players making the wrong decisions when overwhelmed with options in split-second scenarios.

By Pivac's first autumn in charge in 2020, the Welsh defence - among other things - was struggling.

After five defeats on the bounce, Hayward was made the fall guy for the Welsh coaching ticket. It wouldn't have been an easy call for Pivac, having worked with Hayward at the Scarlets, but it was a clear indication of the pressure building on the head coach.

Did it pay off? In the long-run, you'd say it has - with Gethin Jenkins reverting to a defensive system more akin to Shaun Edwards' blueprint.

Leaving Adam Beard out of a squad

As demonstrated by North, Pivac isn't afraid to drop players for the odd game.

But he's also more than happy to leave players out of an entire campaign if he feels there's areas to work on.

The likes of Elliot Dee and Owen Watkin have missed out on squads and come back in with big performances, but the best example would be that of second-row Beard.

A regular under Gatland, Pivac saw fit to sit Beard out of Wales' congested 2020 autumn campaign, giving him things to work on back at the Ospreys.

Often, when a coach says they've left a player out with things to work on, it can just be a diplomatic way of saying he's not in my plans. You can't exactly just slam the door shut in a press conference.

But, for Beard, the door was definitely left open and, with some hard work, he forced his way back in.

First, he played a part in last year's Six Nations triumph, then he won a Test cap for the Lions in South Africa.

This year saw him named as vice-captain for the Six Nations campaign, a remarkable rise over the course of 18 months.

If ever there was a vindication of Pivac's bold calls, very different to the largely consistent nature of Gatland, this is it.

This year's back-three shuffle

Moving into this year's tournament, there's been more than a few controversial calls from the coach.

First up, there was the decision - after flirting with the idea in the autumn - to start Josh Adams in midfield against Ireland.

On a miserable day in Dublin, Adams cut as frustrated a figure as anyone in a red jersey - even seeing yellow for a dangerous hit on Johnny Sexton.

For many, the experiment became another stick to beat Pivac with - but the signs are that this one isn't done with yet.

Adams moved into midfield against France as Wales pushed for a winning score and there's every chance he's handed a start there at some point down the line.

However, as he moved back onto the wing post-Dublin, the form of Alex Cuthbert against Scotland presented Pivac with another decision to make.

Dropping poster boy Rees-Zammit seemed unthinkable not that long ago, with the decision being met with more anger than any other.

However, there were work-ons in the young winger's game that needed addressing as his influence on Test matches began to wane slightly, while the selection of Cuthbert at Twickenham was more than justified.

While a solo try against Northampton for Gloucester was hardly the proof of improvements in the areas of his game highlighted by Pivac that some think it was, he did come back more determined against France and showed some glimpses off the bench.

In the long-run, dropping Rees-Zammit now is more than likely to do him more good than just keeping him in the side for the sake of it.

The back-row merry-go-round

The back-row has been an area of general flux under Pivac, with 18 different combinations used so far as he tries to find a balance that suits his attacking game.

As a result, we've seen big names dropped from the starting XV and even the squad.

Ellis Jenkins, Wales' captain just a few months ago, hasn't been seen since the opening round against Ireland, paying the price for a poor team performance in Dublin and being chopped from the squad altogether before the France game.

Similarly, Taine Basham had been one of Wales' standout performers, but he missed out entirely on selection for the France match - with Pivac opting for a back-row balance of Seb Davies, Josh Navidi and Taulupe Faletau.

Even the selection of Davies at blindside flanker could be deemed a fairly bold call, given the reaction it garnered.

But Pivac, who is keen on a second-row/back-row hybrid, was largely justified in how both Davies and the back-row went.

In that sense too, he was justified to leave out Basham.

But the true test of his calls on Jenkins and Basham will only come later down the line.

Taming a Lion - twice

In Wyn Jones, Wales have a loose-head prop who toured with the Lions last year, being the first-choice starter for the first and third Test - even if a shoulder infection ruled him out of the former.

However, in Wales' first campaign following the tour of South Africa, the feeling was that, with limited minutes for the Scarlets, Jones wasn't at his peak.

However, dropping a Lions prop is a big decision to make.

But, for the clash with the Springboks, it was one Pivac was willing to make.

"We’ve come in undercooked. Wyn Jones, coming back from the Lions, knows he has some work to do to get to full fitness levels required to play at Test level," said Pivac at the time.

Jones hit back and the Welsh scrum has gone better since that gauntlet was laid down.

Although, as Pivac showed last week, he's still willing to drop a player of Jones' calibre if he feels the game is better suited for another player. Gareth Thomas' selection again proved pretty hard to argue.

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