Pivac: Pumas so much tougher

WAYNE Pivac was happy with the performance of his Wales side shorn of 12 front line players due to injury and the British & Irish Lions tour as they scored ten tries against Canada.

There were five new caps with Dragons second row Ben Carter putting in a man-of-thematch performance.

Pivac insisted Wales will have to be much better against Argentina next week.

“We didn't want to go in cold against a side that has drawn twice against Australia and beaten the All Blacks,” said Pivac. “You have to respect any side that can do that. They're a serious Tier One nation now and for this young team to go up against a side like that is exactly what we need.

“It will show them how much hard work they need to put in if they want to play at this level on a regular basis. There are lots of learnings and there will be a lot more next week.

“I'm thrilled for Ben. It's the first time he's played a professional game in front of his family.

“We gave him the extra workload in terms of calling the lineouts. We wanted to put him under pressure and he did very well. It bodes well for the future.”

Carter, 20, said: “It was amazing and really tough, but the crowd really helped and it was just brilliant for me. I really enjoyed it. I felt quite a lot of pressure. I didn't expect to be here, so everything is a bonus.”

Wales captain Jonathan Davies knows an 80-minute performance is a must against Argentina.

“In the first half we started well and stuck to our processes, but in the second half our standards slipped,” said Davies. “There is lots to work on going forward to Argentina. Our discipline and speed to the breakdown needs to improve.”