Paris (AFP)

In a year on the Wales bench, Wayne Pivac went through all the states: 5th and penultimate for his first Six Nations Tournament, the Welsh coach guided the XV du Leek to the 28th title in its history in 2021.

And to think that a few months ago, at the end of the 2020 edition, finished just in front of the eternal Italian wooden spoon, the Welsh had slipped to 8th place in the world ranking.

Social networks then flourished from "#PivacOut" and the old glories were rising to demand change.

Friday evening, after the defeat of France to Scotland (27-23), synonymous with deliverance for his family, Pivac savored the moment.

"What a Tournament! We Welsh people are in heaven. We are very happy to have won the Tournament. It is a pity that we were not able to do it, the group together, last week", a- he explained to the BBC microphone.

The 58-year-old technician only regrets the only defeat of the "Red Dragons" in stoppage time at the Stade de France (32-30).

"It doesn't take away from the fact that a lot of hard work has been done and we are coming out on top of the standings, with the final victory," he added.

- After Gatland -

The New Zealander had landed after the World Cup-2019 in Japan to replace Warren Gatland, the man who turned Wales into a semi-finalist of the World Cup (2011 and 2019) and who won four Tournaments, including three Grand Slams (2008, 2012, 2019).

After twelve years of success, Gatland wanted to move on and it was Pivac who was tasked with taking over.

But if the ingredients were there, the recipe took a long time to take.

Finished the somewhat stereotypical but devilishly effective game, Pivac intends to deploy an expansive game.

"I don't really like robot teams."

The former police officer is in fact not a follower of a strict application of the rules: he admitted it himself when he took office, ensuring that he prefers players "who express themselves".

An approach that was rather successful for him since he won the Pro14 (then Pro12) with the Scarlets in 2017, before bringing Llanelli's franchise back to the final the following year.

- Chain successes -

“It took me a while to get this machine running and eventually we were successful. People will always have their opinions. And rightly so: they support the team and put a lot of faith in what we do. So if things are not going well, questions are logically asked ", recently justified Pivac.

“When I watch other sports I'm probably pretty critical too. It's human nature, isn't it?” He added.

Little by little, Pivac managed to transform Wales, also benefiting from the explosion of thunderous winger Louis Rees-Zammit (20), author of four tries in five matches, of the indestructible Alun Wyn Jones (157 selections ) or known club players who have become international (Wyn Jones, Hadleigh Parkes ...).

In 2020, Wales had only beaten Italy, twice (42-0 and 38-18), as well as Georgia (18-0).

But nothing to worry the placid Pivac.

Result: in 2021, his Welsh have chained successes, sometimes a bit lucky, as against Scotland (25-24) or Ireland (21-16), others more resounding, like the demonstrations ahead of Italy (48-7) or England (40-24).

And it only took a test from French back Brice Dulin, after two minutes of stoppage, to deprive the Welsh of a thirteenth Grand Slam.

Regardless, Scotland held out against the Blues and, more than a year after a complicated start, Wayne Pivac and his XV du Leek are on the roof of Europe.

"Diolch! (Thank you)", the Welsh say to him.

© 2021 AFP