Wales pulled off a resounding 40-24 victory over England in the Six Nations, claiming the Triple Crown.
Here's everything Wales head coach Wayne Pivac had to say to the media after the win at the Principality Stadium.
Question: Wayne, congratulations. What about the turnaround compared to last year?
Wayne Pivac: Firstly, it feels great. The players are feeling very good about the performance they put in.
We talked about it being a special day for a lot of reasons – George [North]’s 100th Test match, some silverware on the line and the opportunity to go deeper into the competition and push on.
It was a special day, the weather was good and we went out there and got a bonus point win. You have to be proud of the performance.
Q: Do you think English supporters have any reason to contest either of the first two tries?
WP: From a Welsh point of view, the cross-field kick was pinpoint. It was good skill. Josh Adams did his job by hanging out there to give us the option and I thought it was well taken once the referee said time on.
If it was against us, we’d be having a little bit of a look at ourselves and why we didn’t react quicker.
Q: You made some fairly early substitutions and they seemed to pay off, yes?
WP: We had a plan in the midfield where Willis [Halaholo] was going to come on somewhere between the 40 and 50 minute mark. It was Jonathan [Davies]' first game for a while and he was pretty solid.
We thought it was time to bring Willis in and see if we could change things up a little bit.
I thought all the substitutes that came on did a fairly good job in a pressure situation.
Q: Was it quite a surreal atmosphere in which to collect the Triple Crown ?
WP: Yeah, the players were joking about doing a lap of honour for the fans at the end.
I’m sure everybody in their homes will be celebrating that one.
Q: Italy have been well beaten by Ireland, so a lot of people will be looking ahead to a Grand Slam effort against France...
WP: We’ve already spoken briefly about the importance of the next game [against Italy]. It would undo a lot of very good work if we didn’t focus on that game and that game alone.
We have to make sure we go out there and put in another solid performance and hopefully get the points. The last weekend will take care of itself.
Q: It looked like England were trying to get into Dan Biggar with a few borderline late hits early on – what did you make of the way he dealt with that?
WP: It pretty much happens every time we play England. The players know each other very well and Dan obviously plays in their league.
A 10 in any team is one of your players that have to marshal the troops and implement a game plan. In the past they’ve tried to get under his skin a little bit but he’s been around long enough to deal with that.
I thought he dealt with it pretty well.
Q: Callum Sheedy has come on at key times in games against England and at Murrayfield – what have you made of him recently?
WP: I thought he was fantastic. After missing a couple of kicks up in Edinburgh, to come on in that situation, a very tight game, he had three difficult kicks and hit all three of them well.
I’m just pleased for him. His general play was solid.
I think all the boys coming on added something to the game.
Q: Was it a tactical decision to put Sheedy on for Dan Biggar?
WP: I think everybody got a lot of confidence, including the player, out of what happened in Murrayfield. It was really a case of waiting to see how things progressed in this particular game.
Dan took a couple of knocks and he clearly was not 100. When he took his last knock, which was on the forearm – he took one on the hip as well – so he wasn’t moving too freely.
It was time to bring him off.
Q: Sheedy is putting his hand up for a start, isn’t he?
WP: He’s doing everything that we’re asking of him and he’s enjoying being in the environment.
He did say he’d play 15, wing or whatever we wanted. He’s just a young guy that is really enjoying the environment, he’s expressing himself and he’s doing very well, along with a lot of other players.
We want to have competition across a lot of positions and we want that selection headache every week.
Q: How do you think George North handled what has been a really big occasion for him personally?
WP: He handled himself as we knew George would. He’s taken it all in his stride, he’s been very humble.
We had a little video for him [on Friday] night in the team room. That was from his family and other greats of the game and it was very touching.
George, in the number 13 jersey, put in another good display. He’s feeling comfortable in that position.
We have a couple of options for him going forward.
Q: Given the number of penalties England conceded, Maro Itoje in particular, were you expecting a yellow card?
WP: Yes, probably before half time on the fourth one. At the end of the day, the referee probably didn’t think they were all in the same area perhaps.
That is a lot of penalties for one player. He’s pushing the boundaries clearly but he’s a world-class player. Sometimes world-class players get away with a little bit more than others.
Q: Can you talk us through your reaction at full time? You looked unbelievably pleased.
WP: We were pretty pumped up when Callum kicked his third penalty, which took us out to two scores.
To get the bonus point at the end, we’re very happy. We’re happy for the players because they’ve put in so much work and worked very hard.
We get to see what’s going on behind the scenes in terms of the camaraderie of everyone in the group and I think that’s shown for everyone watching.
A lot of people may have thought that, at 24-24, England were coming pretty strong at us. But our guys found another gear again and we’re very pleased with that.
We can keep building on that performance.
Q: Wales have made a habit of sticking in games and coming out on the right side in years gone by – can you talk to us about the character of your senior players?
WP: We talk a lot about Alun Wyn and everything that is said is very accurate. He’s been there and done it so many times – I think it’s 22 times against England.
Guys like that have messages to give during the week. The young guys are hanging off every word. He’s one of many senior players that we have in the group that are really stepping up in training sessions and team meetings.
I’m very pleased that those guys, in particular senior players like Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau, Dan Biggar, Jonathan Davies, George North – those sorts of players – want to take on that role and share those experiences with younger players.
It’s vitally important for us going forward.
Q: We appreciate there are Covid restrictions but, with a week off coming up, do you allow the players to celebrate this one?
WP: No, we won’t be celebrating the old-fashioned way, unfortunately. I think that’s a great part of our sport because you work so hard and the collisions are so big.
To then be able to go, sit down and have a cold beer or a glass of wine with your mates is important.
They’ll have a couple now but then we’ll disband. They’ll have a couple of days off but then they’re back in next week ready to do some hard work.
Q: How do you keep a lid on the expectation of the nation?
WP: Because we haven’t really played the house down yet, we’ve well and truly got our feet on the ground. The players have talked about that in the changing room already.
The next game is the most important one because there’s a chance it could undo all this good work.
We’ll be working really hard, looking at the Italians and doing all of our usual reviewing of our performance and previewing them.
Then we’ve got to make sure we put out a side that can, not only get a good result, but give a good performance, which is ultimately what we’re after.
Q: How do you feel personally after a difficult autumn when some fans were calling for you to go?
WP: Obviously it’s very satisfying but we’ve stayed focused on our jobs and what we’re doing.
It’s well-documented that we chose to go down a bit of a development route in the autumn and build some depth in certain positions.
It was a free hit from our point of view. Our board is across what we’re doing and the public will get on board when we start getting results, we knew that.
For me, personally, it’s about the players and providing them with an environment where they can come in and get the job done, keep improving.
Hopefully we’re doing that and people are seeing that the hard work is starting to pay off. But there are still two big games to go.
