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Dan Biggar to miss World Cup clash with Uruguay and possibly quarter-finals

By Online Editors
Dan Biggar

Dan Biggar is out of contention for Wales’ final World Cup group game against Uruguay on Sunday.

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And Wales could be left sweating on his prospects of facing likely quarter-final opponents France in 11 days’ time.

Centre Jonathan Davies, meanwhile, might also need close monitoring following a punishing Pool D encounter with Fiji that Wales won 29-17 to book a last-eight place.

Fly-half Biggar failed a head injury assessment during Wales’ victory over Australia 10 days ago, but he passed the subsequent return-to-play protocols.

And he will have a head injury assessed after crashing to the ground following a sickening second-half collision with his team-mate Liam Williams, before going off.

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“Dan Biggar was removed from the field,” Wales head coach Warren Gatland said.

“He didn’t do a HIA. He was just removed from the field. It means that he won’t be in consideration for Sunday, and he will have to go through protocols.

“We will probably get someone to look at him as well.”

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Davies hurt his knee, and Gatland added: “He will probably be assessed tomorrow, when all players go and have a review of today.

With Biggar out, Rhys Patchell is set to wear the number 10 shirt in a much-changed team against Uruguay, although who would provide fly-half back-up remains to be seen.

“Some players are going to have to back-up, particularly backs. We may go for a 6-2 split on the bench with six forwards,” Gatland said.

“We will weigh those options up in terms of who we think can do the job for us. We’ve got players who may be a little unfamiliar, but we have been running players there at training.”

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Wales were pushed to the limit before prevailing through wing Josh Adams’ three tries and a late Liam Williams touchdown that saw them home in bonus point fashion.

But Fiji, who are now out of the tournament, scored two tries in the first 10 minutes before a penalty try meant they regained the lead midway through the second-half.

Gatland added: “We knew Fiji were going to be tough. They’ve got some absolute world-class athletes.

“I would have taken a bonus point from 10-0 down. I thought it showed some great character.

“It was tough, but there was some real character displayed out there, given how hard and physical the game was.”

Gatland also paid tribute to hat-trick hero Adams after he showcased his finishing prowess.

“The way he finished some of those tries, that’s a real skill that he has to get across the line and to do what he does,” Gatland said.

“The second one was a great finish, and I thought he had an outstanding game. He has been a real find for us over the last year or so.”

Fiji head coach John McKee paid tribute to his players following a Herculean effort.

“To take it to such a good Welsh team is credit to all of the players,” McKee said.

“What was pleasing was that we had an opportunity on the world stage to show what this team is capable of. We had to really attack Wales and had to back ourselves to score tries.

“We chanced our arm a little bit and backed our attacking play and put themselves under pressure to see how they reacted, and for large parts of the game that worked very well for us.

“We came here with very high aspirations, and we did really want to get to the play-offs (quarter-finals).

“That was one of our objectives, and we haven’t achieved that, and we are disappointed.

“Having said that, the World Cup is a competitive environment and it’s very difficult to progress from the pool stages for any team. We can go away from this tournament with our heads held high.”

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Mzilikazi 2 hours ago
How Leinster neutralised 'long-in-the-tooth' La Rochelle

Had hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”

11 Go to comments
S
Sam T 8 hours ago
Jake White: Let me clear up some things

I remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.

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Ed the Duck 15 hours ago
How Leinster neutralised 'long-in-the-tooth' La Rochelle

Hey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂

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