Crisis, concern or confusion? Call it what you like but we have been here before. The feast or famine nature of Welsh rugby union has again been in evidence over the past 12 months.

Wales rugby finds itself gripped in a national crisis again. For those who thought these dark days might have been over, there is little to be hopeful about.

2020 can be described as an "annus horribilis" for many because of the coronavirus crisis. Welsh rugby is among them. So how did we get here?

Twelve months ago, Wales fans were expressing their disappointment and even exasperation at Gatland's side just missing out on a place at the 2019 World Cup final with a narrow 19-16 defeat by eventual champions South Africa.

That glorious failure in Japan seems a far cry one year on, with the Welsh game unravelling on and off the field, typified by a series of high-profile departures.

These include figures like Ryan Jones, Sam Warburton, Gareth Davies, Martyn Phillips and Byron Hayward within the space of a month.

Those exits have been for different reasons and in different circumstances. But added up, disarray again seems to dominate in the Welsh game.

Wales woes

Let us start with the failing men's team, who in August 2019 were top of the world rankings under the old coaching regime. They have now dropped to ninth. Talk of evolution or revolution under Pivac has been replaced by regression.

Gatland, Shaun Edwards, Robin McBryde and Rob Howley have moved on to pastures new in different circumstances after being together for 12 years.

The quartet were not every fan's favourite, with the much-maligned Howley and McBryde especially subjected to abuse, but Wales won three Grand Slams, four Six Nations titles and reached two World Cup semi-finals on their watch.

Gatland spoke of the "intellectual property" being lost. There was new information coming in with Pivac, who had a year to prepare for the job.

The honeymoon period started with victory in an uncapped win over Barbarians in November 2019 and a 42-0 win over Italy in the opening 2020 Six Nations game.

The positive vibes ended there as six successive defeats followed and Wales ended the Six Nations in fifth place, their worst performance in the tournament since 2007.

Friday's 32-9 drubbing in Dublin has heaped more pressure on Pivac after pre-match talk of "player unrest" and a "sinking ship".

Wales have come out of the first lockdown slower than any other major rugby nation. It is hard to blame preparation, especially after Argentina made history by beating New Zealand on Saturday, with the Pumas not having played for 13 months.

The Welsh camp has also lost coaching personnel with defence duo Hayward and Warburton departing in the past month.

Warburton cited wanting to spend time on other commitments away from coaching and is now commenting on Wales from a television studio.

He was replaced in October as breakdown technical advisor by Gethin Jenkins. Hayward's shock departure then came after a Six Nations review led by Pivac, ending a coaching partnership that had lasted six and a half years.

Jenkins has been given extra responsibility for the defence in the four Autumn Nations Cup games before a long-term successor is appointed.

For all the talk of a new style, that expansive attacking approach has not materialised under Stephen Jones, while the Welsh set-piece foundations have floundered under Jonathan Humphreys.

Pivac has stayed loyal to almost all of the same players that took Wales to the top of the world. That has not worked and he must now ponder what to do with some of the 30-somethings in his squad.

However, how much time and patience he will be afforded remains to be seen, with critics circling the wagons. Just one look at social media proves there are many baying for blood and calling for change already.

As captain Alun Wyn Jones commented in the Ireland post-match news conference, one defeat is often enough in Wales to raise concerns - let alone half a dozen.

With a reported two-year break clause into his four-deal through to the 2023 World Cup in France, Pivac has two campaigns in the Autumn Nations Cup and 2021 Six Nations to prove to the demanding public and Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) hierarchy he is still the man.

He needs to start winning quickly.

Boardroom shake-up

Who is in those WRU roles now to make those decisions on Pivac's long-term future since performance director Ryan Jones, chief executive Martyn Phillips and chairman Gareth Davies have exited?

The governing body in Wales has also undergone some upheaval in recent times with an interim chief executive in Steve Phillips and new chairman, Rob Butcher, in the leading roles, while Jones has not been replaced.

Former finance director Phillips has already effectively given Pivac a vote of confidence after the dismal Six Nations campaign.

The WRU board have its own problems in dealing with the severe financial pressures caused by Covid-19.

They are already facing up to the prospect of losing £35m of revenue if the 2021 Six Nations home matches against England and Ireland are played behind closed doors following on from no spectators during the Autumn Nations Cup.

The WRU has negotiated a £20m loan with NatWest Bank for the four Welsh regions, which Cardiff Blues, Ospreys, Scarlets and Dragons will be expected to pay back over five years.

This brings us to the struggling Welsh regions. None of the four sides qualified for the Pro14 play-off finals or Europe's Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals last season and their start to the 2020-21 season has also been inauspicious.

Top players are away on international duty, but that is the case for all the home nations. The regions are battling against what they see as being under-resourced and under-funded compared with other countries.

So plenty of food for thought for Welsh rugby. The senior side's success in the past 12 years has often hidden issues in the Welsh game. When those on-the-field victories dry up, the cracks widen.

Everybody desperately needs a lift. Who would have thought any sort of victory over Georgia would be so important?

That will not be lost on Pivac, his players or those in charge at the WRU.