Byron Hayward: Wales boss Wayne Pivac welcomes return of former defence coach

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac and his former defence coach Byron Hayward

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has welcomed the return of Byron Hayward to international rugby with Canada.

Former defence coach Hayward left Pivac's Wales coaching staff before the Autumn Nations Cup in November 2020.

He will link up with the Canucks as a technical advisor for their summer tour matches starting against Wales on 3 July in Cardiff.

"I am really pleased, take the coaching side away and he's a good friend," said Pivac.

Hayward joined Pivac's Wales coaching team in 2019 after the pair had worked together for Scarlets.

He departed a year later to be eventually replaced by former Wales and British and Irish Lions prop Gethin Jenkins.

Hayward is a good friend of Canada head coach and former Wales captain Kingsley Jones, who has brought him back into the international fold.

"Byron has worked really hard to be at the level of the game that he was operating at," said Pivac.

"It was well documented when he left that the chemistry just didn't work at that point in time with this group.

"You don't become a bad coach overnight and Byron has done very well in his coaching career.

"I knew that he would bounce back from that, it was just about waiting for the right opportunity.

"I think this is a good stepping stone for Byron to get back into full time professional coaching."

Pivac does not envisage Hayward's involvement will enforce Wales into any tactical changes.

"It's inevitable that you will bump into coaches that you've coached with along the way," added Pivac.

"You know bits and pieces about how different people want to play the game. At the end of the day, we've got to be good enough to execute and the opposition have to be good enough to stop us.

"In the modern game now, with footage that's available, whether the Welsh boys are there or not, you can have a good look at teams.

"It's about how they put a plan together to stop us, which will be interesting to see."

Howley had already been brought into the Canada coaching fold last year after serving a ban for betting breaches.

Just days before the 2019 World Cup started in Japan, the then Wales assistant coach was sent home.

The former Wales and British and Irish Lions scrum-half was subsequently banned from rugby for 18 months, nine of them suspended.

"You've got a guy who has that much experience, having been on Lions tours and coached Wales for a long period of time with a lot of good results behind him," added Pivac.

"It's sad to see anyone out of the game for any length of time when they still have something to offer."