Welsh woes
Wales’ opening 54-9 World Cup victory over Uruguay on Sunday has come at a hefty price with hat-trick hero Cory Allen likely to be ruled out of the tournament and five other players, including Liam Williams, left, carrying injuries. Placed alongside two-time world champions Australia and hosts England in the group of death, it is a hammerblow for Wales coach Warren Gatland who is already without star full-back Leigh Halfpenny and first-choice backs Rhys Webb and Jonathan Davies. Allen scored three first-half tries but limped off 15 minutes into the second period. ‘‘It looks like Cory Allen’s done a significant hamstring injury,’’ Gatland said. on the big screens at the ground, and then drowned him out during his post match interview.
It’s unclear whether that behaviour will continue when McCaw next plays, or if it was simply the passionate response of the Pumas army of supporters after watching their team lose its Pool C opener 26-16.
Whatever the case, those pundits, media and referees will all be watching his every move from here on in. There is the risk innocent actions could now rightly or wrongly be perceived as cynical.
It will be interesting to see how the All Blacks deal with the unexpected negative on an otherwise positive start to their title defence.
The New Zealanders have collectively been a pleasure to be around since they arrived early in London to honour commitments to sponsors.
These All Blacks and their coaches have been jovial, friendly, genuine, helpful and, at times, quite funny when they’ve fronted the world’s media.
Hansen has led the so-called charm offensive and will likely deal with Tripgate the same way he does with most things – with honesty and humour.
In reality, McCaw’s offence was minor in the grand scheme of things, but the candle could become a bush fire if not dealt with quickly and effectively.
McCaw got the ball rolling in the right direction when he simply admitted his actions were ‘‘dumb’’ and wished immediately he hadn’t done it. His general tone was, ‘I plan to move on’.
That he put his team under pressure against Argentina will be most grating, but he will also be annoyed that he’s created a distraction early in the tournament.
He’ll also need to be a little careful not to get any more yellow cards. Three strikes in pool play and he’d have to front a judicial hearing and the prospect of missing a knockout match.
That’s unlikely, but a frightening prospect all the same.