Ken Owens: Hooker says Wales' style change under Wayne Pivac will take time

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Ken Owens (left) with Wayne Pivac
Wales hooker Ken Owens (left) also worked with head coach Wayne Pivac at Scarlets
Autumn Nations Cup: Fifth-place play-off - Wales v Italy
Venue: Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli Date: Saturday, 5 December Kick-off: 16:45 GMT
Coverage: Listen to commentary on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru; watch on S4C and follow live text on the BBC Sport website and app.

Wales need more time to adapt to head coach Wayne Pivac's attempted change in style, says hooker Ken Owens.

Having succeeded Warren Gatland - whose pragmatic, more physical approach yielded three Grand Slams - Pivac has pledged to develop Wales in attack.

But he has endured a torrid start to his tenure, losing seven of his nine Tests in charge.

Pivac had earned praise for the attacking verve with which his former Scarlets side played.

Asked if that brand of rugby can work at international level, Scarlets hooker Owens told the BBC Rugby Union Weekly podcast: "It can, but the way we played at the Scarlets, we relied on really quick ball and playing off a lot of turnovers as well.

"The years we were successful we had Tadhg Beirne, James Davies and John Barclay ruling the roost at the contact area, so we scored a lot off turnover ball.

"Probably what you get from international rugby is how competitive the contact area is contested, both sides of the ball it's very difficult to get that speed of ball consistently.

"It's going to take a little bit of time to adapt the Scarlet way, if you want to call it that, or what we played with at the Scarlets, for it to work at Test rugby."

Wales' problems under Pivac have been numerous: directionless in attack, struggling to keep possession, outplayed at the breakdown and a mess at set-pieces.

While they have conceded several penalties at scrums, the line-out has arguably been more of a concern.

Wales' line-out success rate from their own throws this autumn has fallen to 85%, 75%, 69%, 73% and 73% in each match, with 17 line-outs lost in five matches.

Owens would usually be throwing into those line-outs, but his shoulder injury means he has not played for Wales this season.

"It's probably been the combination that the set-piece hasn't been consistent at all, which is a huge talking point in Wales," he said.

"There has been a little bit of change, with some boys coming in and out and not quite getting that consistency.

"It's obviously been frustrating for me to be out injured, but I'm not getting any younger either so it's a great opportunity for the young boys to get stuck in and put their hands up.

"They've done really well, all three of them [hookers Ryan Elias, Elliot Dee and Sam Parry] when they've played."

Wales have given debuts to several players during the Autumn Nations Cup as they aim to build strength in depth.

As well as hooker Parry, back-rowers James Botham and Shane Lewis-Hughes, wing Louis Rees-Zammit and centre Johnny Williams are among those to have made their first appearances for Wales.

"I thought Johnny Williams was absolutely outstanding," Owens said of Saturday's loss to England.

"He's been brilliant with us down at the Scarlets and it was great to see him have an opportunity. He was outstanding. Defensively, he was great, he carried well, and took his try really well.

"Seeing Louis Rees-Zammit getting a run of games as well, when he got the ball he did look sharp, put a lot of work in off the ball as well.

"I just think, in one way it hasn't been great, obviously results-wise, but I think in this World Cup cycle, which is what it is now, new coaches coming in, we have blooded some new players and had a look at players.

"One of the ultimate tests is England, especially from a forwards point of view, and some boys have put their hand up and showed that they can play at this level.

"It will take a little bit more time for them to get the experience and probably get really confident at this level, but there was enough there to suggest it's looking good going forward."

Wales host Italy at Parc y Scarlets on Saturday with fifth place in the Autumn Nations Cup at stake.

Owens had surgery on his shoulder injury in October, prompting fears he might miss the 2021 Six Nations.

On his chances of being fit in time for that tournament, Owens said: "Hopefully I'll get a couple of games in and hopefully my form will still be there, and we'll take it from there."

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351 comments

  • Welsh fan seem to be as fickle as Irish. They were crying out for change from 'warrenball', now they are calling for Pivac's head because he isn't delivering immediate success.
    Of course they could just grind out narrow wins or narrow defeats, but where will that take them in the long run?
    Wales need to develop their style of play, and they have to be prepared to lose to learn. No risk, no reward

    • beshocked replied:
      I wouldn't call Welsh or Irish fickle. Just both countries picked poor successors. Gatland and Schmidt set the bar high as well. Being their greatest ever coaches.

  • Not sure why we're trying to change the style! A tiny nation made the semi finals of the biggest global competition and at one point was ranked World No 1, (however flattering that was at the time).

    • U3246151 replied:
      To be fair, they were beaten in that semi-final by an equally small nation!

      It was nonetheless a fantastic performance and Wales' best outside the 6N.

  • Dont care which or what style Pivac wants, the initial problem is the basics. Scrum and lineout. Sort these out then you have a platform. A good lineout means you can challenge the opponents lineout. Then booting out of hand for touch means they begin from a standing start and spoiling their lineout puts pressure on them.

  • Great respect for ken Owens , and understand why he would say it but it’s complete rubbish to suggest Elias and others have done well in his absence . No one has put pressure on his position and none look good enough at international level . Gotta be a worry as ken not getting younger .

    • flex replied:
      Elias and Dee were both good off the bench when covering Owens. Both been very strong defensively and showed up well around the park. But the lineout has massively misfired, have they become bad players overnight or is it a coaching a systemic issue? There were a whole host of issues with the lineout, the throwing was just one.

  • Wales need to give the guy a chance. He's trying to transition a team from steamroller to sports car and that won't happen overnight. He's also swimming against the tide of zero-risk international rugby which is boring everyone to tears.

    If he can learn to lose with a bit of grace I'm sure he'll do just fine...but it needs a couple of seasons for new players and new tactics to gel!

    • Colonel Sanders replied:
      100% agree with you.

  • Can't deny that the set piece has been a shambles. Should they Bring in a new forwards coach as well as defence coach?

    And they need to pick a core group to build the squad around. But we've too many who won't see the WC, and a bunch with too few caps. All those in their mid to late 20s seem to be constantly injured.

    Gats, during his second 6N made some big calls and dropped some big names.

    • daiboy replied:
      Defence was better against England Gethin Jenkins will get that right having not long finished playing and was one of the best at defence but Humphreys is not a forwards coach just look how different Scotland are since he left them it's not rocket science to see he's garbage

  • I'm all for giving WP time to develop his game plan although most intnl teams have some similar basic tactics.

    But I hope he cuts out the post match excuses. The team was rusty or the ref got a decision wrong (whether he did or not). Can't be doing with the football culture.

  • A lot of people still have 30 as the dreaded age.... as if a players legs have suddenly gone.... that may of been the case years ago but these modern pros have had different lives...... AWJ conditions himself well, doesn’t drink etc..... the old 30 is now 33-34ish...
    and some players improve with age.... 2 of the best Lions O’Connoll & Shaw.... I think Shaw was 36 ? 2009 superb...

    • harrydash replied:
      Toby Flood still going well with Newcastle

  • Their style has already changed, and for the worse!

    On a more serious note, I think Wales are missing the edge in the tight five and it's so hard to win at international level when you get physically dominated up front.

  • Sorry but Tompkin's comment " I want to attack and get ball in hand and pass and play, but at the end of the day we are playing Test rugby to win." says it all. They are doing what the coaches want and rather than playing what is in front of them and using their obvious talents is being subdued. Coaches need to make sure basics are right, but they should not tell their players how to play.

    • Welshman-in-the-wilderness replied:
      His comment was more directed at the current state of international rugby. It's dominated by territorial kicking and teams that try and run the ball are at a disadvantage in the days of modern breakdown specialist defenders like Tom Curry.

      Not saying I disagree with you though, just putting his comments into perspective.

  • I thought Wales showed some promise against England.
    Got to give WP a chance. When Navidi, Morriarty, Tipuric and TF are all fit that's a strong back row to pick from.
    Get front row sorted and I will not be confident of winning at a full and rabid Cardiff next Six nations.
    Real promise on the wings. Two good solid and powerful centres. Williams at 15.
    You can take Eddie Jones off us as well!

    • flex replied:
      Apart from Owens being missing the front row hasn't really changed. Same players available that we had at the WC. So it's got to come down to the coaching and interpretation of the laws at the scrum. And let's be honest, the lineout has been a complete mess!
      But there's a strong selection of props there, especially with Rob Evans returning to fitness.

  • Whatever we think of Sinckler on this side of the bridge, there's no denying he's a world class prop, and he gives huge credit to Adam Jones for helping his development. Give Bomb a contract and develop our props. Brown and Carre especially have huge potential and could benefit massively.

    • Nigles replied:
      Carre needs 2-3 years in the Premiership...at least!

  • You can't expect miracles overnight, with a new coach...Look at Scotland! I suspect the Welsh team will be more competitive next year, no doubt.

    • Let the Red Dragon Rise replied:
      Six Nations starts in 2 months, do you really think we will have improved by then? If we keep Pivac we will finish 5th again.

  • Pivac has also come in at quite a bad time with a bunch of Wales' best players coming towards the end of their careers. Could another coach have got better performances out of them this year? Most likely, however at the same time doing that might just be delaying the inevitable pain.

    He should get minimum until the next autumn unless the 6N is an absolute massacre.

    • Steve D replied:
      Indeed, still a lot of same players as won 6N last year. The coach sometimes gets too much credit and conversely too much blame.

  • Can someone explain what Lee's 'cunning plan' was at scrum time.

    Was he trying to get the English front row penalised?

    Was the English front row trying to get him penalised?

    It seems that the purpose of scrums nowadays is not to recycle the ball but to win penalties. Like soccer players falling over in the penalty area

    • Steve D replied:
      Yep often used as a way to gain a penalty especially if like England the team has a dominant scrum. Likewise a pushover try. Seems to be rarely used to gain quick ball unless the team is Japan!

  • I suspect that Wales will win on Saturday but if we don't, can we have a game were we don't cite an opposing player for looking at a Welsh player in a funny way or blaming the ref because he let the opposition have the ball. This type of thing is giving Wales a bad name.
    I still believe that many of the Welsh team are in a pie of the week club and really need to get fit. Some new faces would help

    • Dr_John - not a Doctor of medicine replied:
      The Wales team haven't cited anybody. They did complain about being Steve Walshed at the scrum (ref decides one team is dominant and awards every scrum penalty to opposition), just as England complained when it happened to them.

      They also complained about the tackle in the air, but could not have cited anybody, (should there a limit on distance from the ball when a player lands on somebody).

  • They need to give him time, he inherited a team that was ageing and passed it's peak after the last WC, now is the time to rebuild for the next WC, as for the style of play I think the law changes around the breakdown have caused teams to play kick and chase rugby in the hope of winning a penalty if you can trap the catcher on the floor for not releasing.

    • harrydash replied:
      They were good enough to get to the WC semifinals and reach 2 in the world.

  • Some positives, defence has improved over last couple of games.
    Can't attack without a platform, so can't judge the backs or the supposed 'new style' until they sort the set piece.
    Was happy with the appointment of Humphries but he's making a right hash of it so far.
    Bring in Adam Jones as a scrum specialist, and get someone in to sort the lineout.

    • Steve D replied:
      Can't say I ever rated Humphries as a player or coach. Adam Jones be much better if the WRU can get him.
      Welsh backs have promise, Adams and Rees-Zammit real gas.

  • Pivac should be given a long term contract. Let's be honest if he was coaching England they would still be winning every week. It's the players that are letting their country down and turning the Welsh into a tier 4 nation.

    • PWL replied:
      Wasn't long before the idi*ts arrived. School's have just finished.

  • Wales have lost their soul, the supporters need to get in touch and accept their regions, get to winning in the league and Europe at the highest levels and the Nations players will improve and increase in number.

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