1
Wales' injury latest: 'Let's hope he puts those demons to bed'
Wales look set to have Liam Williams and Ellis Jenkins in the selection mix for Saturday’s Autumn Nations Series clash against South Africa, and the Six Nations champions are also expecting definitive fitness updates later on Tuesday surrounding skipper Alun Wyn Jones and flanker Ross Moriarty.
ADVERTISEMENT
Both players suffered shoulder injuries and went off during the first-half of Wales’ 54-16 loss to New Zealand in Cardiff last Saturday. They subsequently underwent scans, with Wales head coach Wayne Pivac delivering a positive immediate post-match assessment of Jones, although the prospects for Moriarty appeared less promising.
Jones hurt the same shoulder that threatened to sideline him from this summer’s British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa before he made a startling recovery and started all three Tests. Hooker Ken Owens (back) and No8 Taulupe Faletau (ankle) have also had knocks, with full-back and wing Williams recovering from appendix surgery and flanker Jenkins shaking off a rib problem.
Cardiff forward Jenkins would be favourite to feature in the back row alongside Taine Basham and Aaron Wainwright if Moriarty is ruled out and should he receive the call from Pivac, it would be his first Wales appearance since suffering a major knee injury while starring against the Springboks three years ago.
Wales assistant coach Neil Jenkins said: “Liam trained yesterday [Monday] and today, and he has been doing other aspects of training in the last few weeks. He is building up nicely. He is fit and available as far as I am concerned, yes. Later on last week, he trained fully and he has trained fully over the last few days.
TRANSFER: Taulupe Faletau will leave The Rec at the end of this season #GallagherPrem #URC #Bath #WALvAUS #Waleshttps://t.co/PxNFbfk2ht
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 2, 2021
“Ellis is another one who is in contention to play on Saturday. What he has gone through is probably no one’s business. For him to get back to this level and play regularly at a level that he is used to… he is a fantastic rugby player. He is incredibly tough, incredibly intelligent in terms of what he does. If he were to play on Saturday, it would be an incredible achievement. It was three years ago and he was man-of-the-match that day. Let’s hope, fingers crossed, that can happen again for him on Saturday and he puts those demons to bed.”
On Jones’ situation, Neil Jenkins added: “If Al is fit and able to play, then brilliant. If not, then it is an opportunity for someone else to play against one of the best sides in the world and some of the best second rows in the world. Of course, we want our best players fit and available. But if for some reason Al is not fit and right for Saturday, then it gives someone else an opportunity and what an opportunity against these guys. You can’t go into your shell against this lot because they will certainly take advantage. We need to stand up for ourselves on Saturday and take the game to them.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Wales have beaten South Africa on the last four occasions in Cardiff and are undefeated against the world champions at home since 2013. “They are so physical and confrontational,” Jenkins added. “Their set-piece is exceptional, their aerial game is superb, and defence and kicking are very good too.
“They are one of the best sides for a reason, so it’s a good challenge for us on Saturday. Against South Africa, we need to be playing for the full 80 minutes because they will be no different to New Zealand. They play a different way but again, they can be very ruthless and efficient in what they do.”
TEAM NEWS: The Springboks have named their team for their first match since their early October Rugby Championship win over the All Blacks #AutumnNationsSeries #Springboks #WALvRSA #SouthAfricahttps://t.co/rr2gieyuZ2
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 2, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
He was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
2 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
34 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
3 Go to comments