Wales expect new boy Lane to be up to speed tomorrow
OWEN Lane has been called up primarily as a winger but won’t be up and running fully until tomorrow, Wales have revealed.
The Cardiff Blues youngster, who was named in Wales’ summer training squad for this tournament but missed out on selection, has now touched down in Tokyo, replacing the injured Josh Navidi.
With five fit back-rowers still on the ground in Japan, head coach Warren Gatland took the opportunity to strengthen his back division, where Wales are carrying knocks.
They look particularly bare at centre with Hadleigh Parkes in the wars recently and Jonathan Davies in a race to overcome a knee injury in time to face South Africa in the World Cup semi-final on Sunday.
As such, the selection of winger Lane raised eyebrows.
Skills coach Neil Jenkins has revealed that he is seen as a winger who has the potential to cover the midfield.
“He can play in both positions. He’s a winger, I think, foremost, but he can certainly play centre as well,” said Jenkins.
“He is a talented player, a strong runner and a good all-round talent.”
Some fans back home had hoped to see Lane, who scored 11 tries in 18 Cardiff Blues games last term and one in his Wales debut against Ireland in August, thrown in against the Springboks.
But that was misplaced as Jenkins revealed he won’t be up and running until the end of the week, having crossed multiple time zones to reach Japan.
“He has only just got in. Hopefully, he will be up and running on Friday,” explained Jenkins.
“That’s the most important thing for us, getting here as an extra back that we’ve needed.
“He was probably unlucky to miss out in the first instance.”
As for star centre Davies, the messages are fairly similar to last week. There is hope that the two-time Lion will be back in full training this week and available for selection on Sunday.
“He seems okay. He is getting back to it, so I would like to think he is going to taking a full part this week in training and obviously fit for Sunday,” said Jenkins.
“He is a key player for us, a big player, someone that we need fit, realistically.
“Owen [Watkin] did exceptionally well on Sunday and is a talented player, but the more numbers we have, the better.
“Looking forward to him training and taking a full part and hopefully being available for Sunday.”
When asked how confident he was that Parkes and Davies would both be fit, he added: “I think they will be. As the week progresses, they will go through what they need to go through, they will train with us as normal, and I would like to think they will take a full part in training this week, and obviously make themselves available for selection on Sunday.
“These games don’t come around very often. I think sometimes, even if your leg is hanging off, you need to strap it yourself to get yourself right. I am sure they will do that this week.”