Fresh doubts over Leigh Halfpenny after Wales' captain's run
The hopes that Leigh Halfpenny has of making a Wales return against New Zealand on Saturday could be dashed by injury. The Scarlets full-back has been suffering from a hamstring strain but was named in the starting line-up by head coach Wayne Pivac. He took an extremely limited part in the ten minutes of the Wales captain’s run at the Principality Stadium that was open to the media on Friday.
Halfpenny spent time in the corner of the pitch with a member of Wales’ support staff before leaving and walking up the players’ tunnel alone. He has not played Test rugby since suffering serious knee ligament damage in Wales’ victory over Canada 16 months ago.
If he is ruled out of the Autumn Nations Series opener, then Wales look likely to hand Cardiff’s Rhys Priestland or current starting fly-half Gareth Anscombe a role in the number 15 jersey. Priestland, usually a fly-half, has played at full-back for Cardiff this season.
Should the 35-year-old be promoted from the replacements for a first Test start since Wales faced Georgia in 2017, then uncapped Scarlets fly-half Sam Costelow could provide bench cover. Costelow, 21, participated in the captain’s run as Wales went through their final pre-match session.
Wales will make their latest attempt to defeat the All Blacks, having not achieved it since 1953 and lost 32 successive Tests against them. But Wales can take heart from New Zealand’s patchy form this year, with Ireland (twice), Argentina and South Africa having defeated the All Blacks.
Pivac has recalled the likes of Ken Owens and Justin Tipuric, who have been long-term injury absentees alongside Halfpenny, with Tipuric taking over as captain from an injured Dan Biggar. Tipuric said: “It is going to be a tough physical game and it will be brutal in areas. We know what they [New Zealand] are going to bring. It’s never a good time to play the All Blacks, let’s be honest. We have got to make sure we put our best foot forward.
“The way New Zealand play and the way we want to play, it should be a fast, running game. New Zealand always finish strongly and that is the one big thing we need to make sure we get right. You can’t switch off otherwise they take advantage of it. In the past, we started well against them and then they pull away in the last 20 minutes. The big thing is whether we can stick it for the full 80 minutes.”
Pivac, who has already masterminded Wales’ first victory over the Springboks on South African soil this year, added: “The boys are really excited. They created some history (in South Africa) and they want to create some more. We respect them [New Zealand] but we have got to go out there and not fear them. The message in our camp is ‘let’s go out there and put our stamp on the game early’. We have to start well.”
Referee Wayne Barnes will become the second official in rugby union history to control 100 Tests when he takes charge of Saturday’s encounter. He follows Welshman Nigel Owens in reaching that landmark, and the game will start with Barnes blowing the whistle from Wales’ first victory against the All Blacks in 1905.
Scotland’s John Dallas was the man in the middle on that day when Wales defeated New Zealand 3-0 in front of a 40,000 crowd at Cardiff Arms Park. Toby Goodman, an exiled New Zealander currently living in Bath, bought the whistle and accompanying correspondence from Dallas several years ago, and the whistle will be lent to Barnes for kick-off.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments