There was bombshell news from the Wales camp on Wednesday evening when it was revealed winger Josh Adams had been suspended for the first two Six Nations matches following a breach of Covid-19 protocols.
It has emerged that the World Cup’s top try scorer had attended a gender reveal gathering with his immediate family present on Sunday.
As a result, he has been released from the squad and will miss the opening Championship fixtures against Ireland and Scotland.
Following the announcement, Wales head coach Wayne Pivac faced the media.
Here’s the full transcript of his Zoom press conference.
Q: How did you find out about what Josh did on Sunday?
A: It came to our attention on our first day back from a day and a half off. It was dealt with pretty swiftly. We spoke to Josh and he told us what had transpired. It’s breached team protocols, it’s breached the Six Nations protocols and obviously the lockdown rules. We’ve been through a thorough education process with the players and the management. From our point of view, it put others at risk potentially, so it was dealt with by way of suspension.
Q: Did Josh train yesterday (Tuesday) before you found out?
A: Yeah, it came to our attention yesterday after training. As soon as it came to our attention, we spoke to the player and he was upfront and honest and realised the mistake he had made. We moved pretty swiftly to put it to bed as quickly as we could. We wanted to put it out there because it’s very topical, it’s in the community and we have to be seen to be doing our bit as leaders and role models.
Q: What sort of event was it he attended on Sunday?
A: It was just close family at a family member’s home, not too far from his own home, but it was in breach of the rules. It was a family milestone which they are very proud of, but unfortunately it is in breach of the rules.
Q: What’s the process now in terms of testing the squad?
A: Everybody had been tested. The results came through this morning and we had 100 per cent negative testing. We’ve got testing again tomorrow (Thursday) and those results should come through tomorrow night or Friday. So fingers and toes crossed that those are negative as well, in which case Josh will rejoin the squad on Monday.
Q: He is missing the first two games? Is that correct?
A: Yes, it is.
Q: Are you confident he hasn’t put the Ireland fixture or the other guys in danger?
A: We are now going through that process. We have gone through the ordinary testing we do at the start of the week and that has been 100 per cent negative.
The next stage is to get the second lot of testing done, which is already in place. If that comes through negative then I think we are all in the clear.
Q: How has Josh reacted to what has happened?
A: He’s very much disappointed on his own behalf. He realises he has made a mistake, an error in judgement. He was very honest and upfront straight away. He put his hand up. He’s apologised to the team and he wants to apologise to everybody that supports Welsh rugby because he realises he has made a foolish mistake.
Q: How disappointed are you that this has happened just before the first game?
A: We’re all very disappointed and that’s why we’ve dealt with it as quickly as we have and as seriously as we have. We have taken it very seriously. We think it’s the only result that was possible. It’s been explained to the team what happened and what we have done and we have trained accordingly today.
Q: Liam Williams is obviously suspended as well. Are you confident in terms of what you’ve got for the wing positions?
A: Yes we are. We’ve got a couple of options. We’ve got George North, Hallam Amos and Louis Rees-Zammit and some midfielders that have been training very well. So we’ve got options there.
Q: To clarify on the breach, did you say it was away from Josh’s personal home?
A: Yeah, not a great distance. It was at a family member’s home. It was a very quiet celebration. As far as I’m aware, there was no alcohol involved. It was a celebration in terms of the family was getting together for something special that has happened and we will leave that part to the family.
Q: Josh has let you down here hasn’t he?
A: He has. He has obviously breached the protocols, so we have taken the action that we have and we would do that with any player. That was spelt out right at the start of the campaign in the autumn that there is zero tolerance for this sort of thing. Covid is a serious, serious pandemic that everyone has to deal with on a daily basis. So it was disappointing, sure. But we all know Josh is a very good individual. The way he reacted and the way he has handled this since we sat him down has been pretty positive.
Q: You have banned him for the first two matches? How much will he have to do to get into the squad before the England game?
A: I don’t want to downplay anything here, but he’s been upfront with us, he’s made an error in judgement and he’s very remorseful.
He can’t do any more than apologise and take it on the chin. He’s embarrassed himself, he’s had to leave the team and he will do his penance at home through until Monday. He will miss the first Test and won’t be with the team for that. He’ll join us on Monday and help prepare the boys that will be selected for the Scotland Test, but he won’t be up for selection on that. I don’t think anymore could be done. The WRU have dealt with it very positively and the Six Nations have given us their full support on the way we have dealt with it.
It’s sad for Josh but we move on and we get excited about the opportunity to kick off the Six Nations back at the stadium.
Q: Are you going to revise your policy on allowing players those small chances of going home based on this breach?
A: I think the message went out at the start of the competition as to how we’d deal with any breaches. We’ve dealt with it exactly how we said we would. That should be a lesson to everybody.
We have to treat these guys as adults, which they are. They are professional rugby players. It’s a very, very long time to lock people away in a hotel.
Everybody came back really refreshed and with 100 per cent negative results from our testing, so I think we have been very good.
There is this one breach and it’s very unfortunate.
Q: What was the first thing that went through your head when you were told the news?
A: We were doing an exercise as a team and Head of Medical Prav (Mathema) and team manager Martyn Williams came across and had a quiet word.
We’ve got a saying within the group that Covid will throw us in a bit of chaos from time to time and it’s how we adapt. This is another case of how we adapt. It does test us from time to time but we’ve worked with the Union and the Six Nations in a short space of time to get this dealt with quickly.
Q: Most people would have expected Josh to start against Ireland, so how much is this going to affect your selection and game-plan?
A: We all know the value Josh brings to the side. He has been a starter for a long time and had that wonderful World Cup – we know exactly what he can do. So it’s disappointing to have him unavailable for selection. But we have other players and one of those will step up now and get that opportunity. That individual will relish the opportunity and want to do everything they can do hold onto the jersey.
Q: This is the last you needed really, isn't it?
A: No, but there are these challenges. The life of a coach has changed dramatically from pre-Covid. It’s just the changes that we face and we just have to adapt.
Q: Do you have to reinforce medical messages again now?
A: We called a team meeting last night and updated the players as to what we were doing. We reinforced the Covid protocols we have in place and our expectations around those.
We gave an opportunity for any questions over the course of the rest of the evening and there were a few obviously because some of these things are individuals making calls.
It’s good we were able to clarify even more questions because it’s an ongoing process of education. Things change and, as the science progresses there are changes and we have to adapt with those changes.
Q: Louis Rees-Zammit is probably the next cab off the rank now with Josh out. Do you have any problems throwing him into Sunday’s game?
A: He’s been training very well. He got a lot of confidence out of the autumn series. He’s seen Liam get suspended and now seen another winger in Josh get suspended. He’s trained well and is expecting now to get a call when the team is named. I’d be very surprised if he didn’t.
Q: What has been the response of the senior players. They must have been disappointed themselves in Josh?
A: They’ve been involved in the process and it’s fair to say they’ve been disappointed. Everyone in the group is disappointed because we were so proud of getting through the autumn with 100 per cent negative testing.
We’d managed to do that again at the start of this campaign after a week and a half, but something like this is disappointing for all us involved.
Q: You seem remarkably calm, but you must have been so angry?
A: It’s disappointing, as I said. Everybody is disappointed and no one more than Josh, once we’ve gone through the pros and cons of the whole episode. It’s frustrating, it’s disappointing, and it takes up our time in preparation for a Test, which is not ideal. But you deal with it and you move on.
Q: Josh would have had realistic expectations of being a Lion this summer. Does he realises he’s given his Lions chances a major blow as well?
A: All players are aware of what is around the corner in terms of higher selection for a Lions tour and the Six Nations is the place to put your hand up.
He’ll be hoping his World Cup form and form previous to that will not be forgotten.
Josh will come back in, train hard, and put his hand up for selection again. There will be three more games and he will be able to get some opportunities there I’m sure.
Q: Looking at the Six Nations as a whole, is there a feeling that this is a fresh start for you?
A: Definitely. We’ve spoken about that as a team. There was a transition in terms of a change in management and a little bit of player turnover through selection.
Then the Six Nations didn’t pan out as we would have liked it to but we’ve had an opportunity to have a look at other players and build a bit of depth in the autumn series. Now it’s really about the business of getting results in the Six Nations and we’re only too aware of that.
We’ve discussed it as a group and we know we need to hit the ground running.
It’s a big, big test for both sides this weekend – there is no doubt about that. Ireland were right in the thick of it for winning last year’s Six Nations and we want to be doing a lot better. We’ve picked a side we believe will help us get better results.
Q: Will any more players be called up?
A: We’re running with the squad we’ve got at the moment. We’ve got a pretty good list of players who are raring to be selected.
The group is training well. With Covid, we don’t want to be bringing too many people in and out. We’re running with what we’ve got at the moment and will see how we come through the weekend.
Q: How would you assess your preparation for the Ireland game generally?
A: We’re more advanced than we were this time in the autumn series.
We have done physical testing and the boys are in better shape across the board than they were coming into the autumn.
We see a lot more rugby under the belt. Preparation has gone pretty smoothly up until this point. In terms of the actual training on the pitch, pretty pleased with how it’s gone. We had a very physical session today, a unit session this morning and a team run at the stadium this afternoon. Really pleased with how the boys have worked in this preparation for the first game.
Q: Will being back in the Principality Stadium be a significant boost?
A: I’ve only been in the job just over a year and I felt pretty good, so I can imagine the guys who have called that home for a number of years certainly the senior players were enjoying it. They had a lot of energy. The pitch was looking great, good underfoot, so we’re really pleased we’re going to back in the stadium and that will be a boost for the boys.
