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Wales are facing an anxious wait over the fitness of captain Dan Biggar, who was injured in Northmapton Saints’ Gallagher Premiership semi-final loss against Leicester.
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Tigers reached their first final for nine years after George Ford inspired an hard fought 27 – 14 victory over Northampton at Mattioli Woods Welford Road.
Biggar could be seen clearly uncomfortable after an attempted charge down in the first half and was removed from pitch just 51-minutes into the game.
It will leave Wayne Pivac potentially without his first choice flyhalf and captain as Wales face the daunting task of a three Test series against the Springboks in South Africa this July.
Pivac has already indicated that he would be selecting his strongest team from here until the Rugby World Cup next year in France, suggesting Biggar was very much in line for game time in South Africa.
The New Zealander still has Rhys Patchell and Gareth Anscombe in the squad, although Biggar has opened up a significant selection gap between himself and those beneath him. If Biggar does miss the tour, his place in squad could be filled by the likes of Sam Davies at Dragons, Jarrod Evans at Cardiff or Callum Sheedy at Bristol to call on.
Eitherway, the absence of Biggar would tild the odds even further in favour of South Africa, who are widely tipped to beat the struggling Welsh side 3 – 0 on home soil.
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The 32-year-old passed the 100 cap mark for Wales at the end of the Six Nations. Only six other Welshmen – Alun Wyn Jones, Gethin Jenkins, Stephen Jones, George North, Martyn Williams and Gareth Thomas – have clocked up a century of caps in the red of Wales.
Yesterday, head coach Jacques Nienaber named a 43-man squad for the Test ahead, a squad which does not include Duane Vermeulen. According to some reports in South Africa, Vermeulen is set to under surgery on a lingering knee injury, although that is yet to be confirmed by Ulster.
