Injury prone Wales fail to convince

Thank goodness, Wales comfortably avoided a huge potential banana skin. Of course, defeat should never really been crossing our minds against the pluck amateurs of Uruguay but after Japan beating the Boks you just never know.

Any of the other members of the “pool of death” will not be unduly concerned about what they saw as Wales stuttered to a 54-9 victory over the South Americans. Rather like England against Fiji, Wales turned the ball over far too many times for their liking with the amount of ball lost in contact a real issue. Perhaps the most worrying aspect though was the further swelling of the sick list and the fact that the two key players who were rushed back, Liam Williams and Samson Lee, both failed to complete the match due to injuries. Add to that injuries to back-up centre Allan and props Jarvis and James and it represents a real cause for concern. Perhaps we have not yet properly acclimatised to local conditions!

There was a distinct feeling that Wales were holding back and not really going into the collisions with the ferocity that the modern game demands. Well this certainly will not do against England and I am sure that the lads will raise the intensity a few more notches against the old enemy. There were some positives of course and Tupuric, as usual, looked very good with Jake Ball also showing up very well. In addition, Priestland’s goal kicking was really consistent and there were some well taken tries.

Warren Gatland looked quite a worried man during the post-match interviews and his biggest concern must be the injuries. The clock is ticking and he needs to call for any replacements to the squad quickly with the seventy two hour deadline fast approaching if they are to be eligible to participate in the England game. I understand that once a player has been replaced in the squad he cannot return so these will be tough decisions. With an urgent need to win at least two of the three remaining pool matches, we need maximum squad strength. There will not really be enough time between the England and Fiji games to call for more replacements. It sounds as if the injury to Allan is the most serious and the experienced and versatile James Hook must surely be worth serious consideration.

Nil desperandum Wales, we can still do it. The injury list is nothing like as long as the one at Pontypool and we managed to beat Newbridge away!