How Biggar became biggest loser in Wales win
Collision concern after head injury assessment fail in previous match
Wales first five-eighths Dan Biggar was the biggest loser in their win over Fiji. Biggar came off worse in a sickening collision with teammate Liam Williams as both players attempted to catch the ball, with Biggar’s head crashing into the turf after hitting Williams’ shoulder and knee, sparking immediate concern after Biggar’s failed head injury assessment in the previous match against Australia.
As required by World Rugby, given Biggar was removed from the field with concussion, he will now be independently assessed.
“He didn’t do a HIA. He was just removed from the field. It means that he won’t be in consideration for Sunday and he will have to go through protocols. We’ll probably get someone to look at him as well,” explained the Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, who was more positive on injuries to centre Jonathan Davies and wing Josh Adams, with Adams scoring a hat-trick against Fiji as Wales confirmed their place in the quarter-finals with a 29-17 win.
“There are no fears. Josh just took a dead leg. Jonathan, with his knee, it was the same sort of thing. You never know with knees. He will probably be assessed tomorrow when all players go and have a review of today. There are some sore bodies. The guys are just sore after a tough and physical game.”
Biggar’s unavailability leaves Rhys Patchell as the only remaining specialist first-five in the squad, with Gatland assessing other options to fill in.
“I don’t know,” Gatland replied when asked who could cover 10 if required. “We’ll sit down as coaches and look at that. Some players are going to have to [act as] back-up. We may go for a six-two split on the bench with six forwards. We’ve got some quality nines. We may look at that. Hadleigh Parkes was talked about and Liam Williams. We’ve been running Hallam Amos at 10 in training and he’s looked sharp.
“We’ll weigh those options up in terms of who we think can do the job. Gareth Davies went on the wing today and he did a job there. We’ve got players who may be a little unfamiliar but we have been running players there at training.
“With the short turnaround, we need to freshen players up.”
Wales remain in control of Pool D, but only after overcoming a monumental scare from Fiji.
Gatland’s side came from behind in both halves, down 0-10 after the first 10 minutes and then 14-17 after the break.
But it was only when Liam Williams crossed to score after 68 minutes that Wales could truly relax, having been put through the wringer by the spectacular Semi Radradra and his teammates. Every touch Radradra had was outstanding, including a ribcrunching tackle on Liam Williams. Quite rightly, the former NRL star was named player of the match.
“Semi is a world-class player and he has shown his class in this tournament,” said Fiji head coach, John McKee. “To win player of the match on the losing team is a big effort.”
Josua Tuisova’s wonder finish in the corner for the opening try was box office. Adams, Biggar and Josh Navidi could not stop Tuisova before he reached out to score, swiftly followed over by Kini Murimurivalu to make it 10-0 to Fiji, with Ken Owens in the sinbin after a reckless tackle on Viliame Mata, the first of four yellow cards in the match given out by Jerome Garces.
Wales rallied, Adams scoring twice to give them a 14-10 halftime lead. But a penalty try to Fiji, after Wales illegally collapsed a maul short of the line, put the pressure back on the Six Nations champions.
After a Rhys Patchell penalty levelled the scores, Jonathan Davies produced a moment of class to turn the tide. His fend on Jale Vatubua was superb, followed by a sumptuous offload to Adams, who completed his hat-trick, before Liam Williams’s try eased any late nerves.
“We knew Fiji were going to be tough. They were very good in the last 15 minutes against Georgia and started really well against Australia,” Gatland admitted.
“They’ve got some absolute worldclass athletes.
“We’ve got ourselves back into it and I thought we finished really strongly. It was tough but there was some real character displayed out there.”