Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

Brad Shields a major Six Nations doubt for England

By Chris Jones
Brad Shields and Dan Robson

England flanker Brad Shields has injured the foot that ruled him out of the Rugby World Cup again and faces at least another month out of the game which seriously hampers his hopes of being part of Eddie Jones’s Six Nations squad.

ADVERTISEMENT

Dai Young, the Wasps director of rugby, has been forced to add Shields the long list of players he cannot pick due to serious injury which now stands at 11 although he was able to report no more casualties had been sustained in the 7-6 home loss to Edinburgh today in the European Challenge Cup.

Shields has injured a different part of the same foot that ruined his World Cup chances and Young said: “Brad has injured the same foot again and it is similar injury but to the other side.

You could say it is a recurrence because it is the area at the back of the foot but it was on the outside before the World Cup and no it is the inside.

Video Spacer

“It is not quite as bad as before and probably four to six weeks rather than six to eight weeks. It is a massive blow because he is absolutely gutted. Unfortunately he is picking up these niggles and cannot get a run of games.”

Wales flanker Thomas Young made his first start since March after foot, ankle and calf injuries and Wasps could have England lock Joe Launchbury fit again within a week to solve a secondrow injury crisis that is significantly hampering the team. “We have to stay strong and things will turn” added Young. “The injuries are a massive challenge over the Christmas period when we have three games and we are going to have to keep our fingers crossed we don’t pick up any more injuries.

“We hope that Joe Launchbury will be coming back into the second row next week because we have those three games in 15 days. “

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 9 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
FEATURE
FEATURE Andy Christie: 'Diversity breeds strength in a group rather than weakness' Andy Christie: 'Diversity breeds strength in a group rather than weakness'
Search