Wales suffer Grand Slam blow with Cory Hill injury
Cory Hill’s stellar Six Nations campaign is over as an ankle injury has ruled him out of the remainder of Wales’ campaign.
The Dragons second row had climbed a mountain these past 20 months, journeying from anonymity to becoming an England Grand Slam killer who suddenly became a household name on Saturday to anyone following the compelling drama of the 2019 championship.
After what seemed a lifetime battling in the shadows for proper recognition, the 27-year-old will be forever remembered as the lock whose try secured the lead in the pulsating win that has put Warren Gatland’s team in the history books as the first from Wales to win a dozen Test matches in succession.
It was fitting that Hill was the scorer as it was his 11th appearance in the record winning streak (only sub hooker Elliot Dee has a similar number of caps). However, an ankle injury sustained in that epic match will now mean he misses the remaining games against Scotland and Ireland.
“Cory was outstanding on Saturday, obviously with his try as well and he’s a fantastic player for us. He’s a good person around the squad as well, [but] we’ve got some fantastic players in that position as well so it will be quite interesting to see who plays in the last few games”, skills coach Neil Jenkins said.
Hill’s crucial try had been firmly one in the eye for the desultory English media who had led the charge in ridiculing the Wales forward and the other five parachuted-in players who made up the notorious Geography Six chosen as mid-tour 2017 Lions cover due to their proximity to New Zealand.
WALES SQUAD UPDATE ? Second row Cory Hill ruled out of remainder of #GuinnessSixNations campaign due to ankle injury sustained against England on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/7dvi0BOV4n
— Welsh Rugby Union ? (@WelshRugbyUnion) February 26, 2019
The multi-layered story about how he came to touch down on the right hand side with the clock showing 67:26 will live in the memory of every Wales fan as it rounded off the complete team move.
All 15 Welsh players handled the ball during the spell-binding 206-second attack that began on their own 10-metre line and finished up over the English try line.
After 34 draining phases, @coryhill_ put Wales into the lead for the first time with a stunning line off Dan Biggar's quick ball ??#ENGvWAL #GuinnessSixNations pic.twitter.com/LiJAVBa8Pg
— Guinness Six Nations (@SixNationsRugby) February 23, 2019
Fourteen players carried to the 34 rucks, scrum-half Gareth Davies – another of the criticised Geography Six – the only one who didn’t go to ground and set up a recycle. Davies, though, was heavily active as the busiest of the half-dozen Welsh passers of a ball that was passed 28 times during the scintillating move ignited by a sloppy English error.
In total, there were four minutes and five seconds of non-stop action between the ball being kicked off at the halfway line by Dan Biggar on 63:19 following Owen Farrell’s successful penalty kick for a 13-9 advantage and it being touched down for Hill’s try.
Comments on RugbyPass
I hope WRU cops a 12 month ban.
1 Go to commentsOuch. Pumped. Even Nohamba is a better flyhalf than Ford.
2 Go to commentsI hope Leinster’s proud of themselves fielding a poor team. They should decide if they’re all in or not.
2 Go to commentsJordie is looking at 16 games maximum if Leinster reach both the URC and champions cup finals. Thats not guaranteed. Some of those home URC fixtures will be cakewalks as well for Leinster and there is not much doing during the 6 nations in Feb and March so he can probably get a decent rest then. He will have to really put in it for maybe 7 or 8 games max. It should be a good move for both.
13 Go to commentsThe game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
27 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
13 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
13 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
6 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
26 Go to comments