Rugby-England's Jones says under-fire Wales coach Pivac must be given time

Nov 27 (Reuters) - England head coach Eddie Jones says his Wales counterpart Wayne Pivac should be given time to get things right after a poor run of form put the New Zealander under pressure.

Pivac took over from Warren Gatland after last year's World Cup in Japan and after beginning the 2020 Six Nations with a 42-0 win over Italy the side endured a run of six straight defeats.

Last week's 18-0 victory over Georgia in the Autumn Nations Cup eased some of the pressure and Jones backed Pivac to turn things around.

"It's been a tough time," Jones told BBC. "The media and fans are going at him ... He'll be feeling the pressure now but he's a good, young coach and if he's given time he'll do a great job for them.

"He has taken over from a successful coach in Warren, who did a great job with Wales, and wants to play a slightly different way.

"That will always come with criticism. I can remember Warren being criticised for the way his team played. Wayne had a great run with the Scarlets and deserves the opportunity to coach Wales."

England, who top Group A with nine ponts from two games, face Wales on Saturday. (Reporting by Arvind Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford )