Tipuric doubt for England after suffering ‘cheap shot’

JUSTIN Tipuric is a major doubt for Wales’s Autumn Nations Cup showdown with England on Saturday.

The flanker, who captained Wales in their 18-0 win over Georgia at the weekend, was the victim of what was dubbed ‘a cheap shot’ by Wales head coach Wayne Pivac.

In the second half, Tipuric’s opposite number Beka Saginadze cracked him across the face with a swinging arm, appearing to instantly knock the Welshman unconscious.

The Osprey will now be a significant doubt to face England and will have to go through return-to-play protocols.

“I’ve seen him in the corridor and he’s chatting away,” said Wales boss Wayne Pivac. “It was an incident which I thought warranted a little bit more than a yellow card based on the camera angles we had.

“It looked a nasty forearm to the face. It put paid to Justin for the rest of the match.”

Speaking to S4C, Pivac added: “We are very disappointed with him leaving the field the way he did with what was pretty much a cheap shot.”

Tipuric’s anticipated absence gives Wales another problem in the back row, where they have already had to cope with injuries to Josh Macleod, Josh Navidi, Ross Moriarty and Taulupe Faletau.

However, there is optimism over the fitness of the No 8, who has been battling a knee knock.

Tries from Gloucester wing Louis Rees-Zammit, who was making his first Test start, and replacement scrum-half Rhys Webb secured a much-needed win for Wales at a wet and windy Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli. Callum Sheedy kicked eight points on his first Wales start.

“In the areas we expected Georgia to come at us we went very well, the set-piece, the scrum and the driven line-out,” Pivac said. “It wasn’t the best conditions to move the ball in though we tried at times.

“To come away with a win for the young guys who have got a start and Ioan Lloyd coming off the bench, they all contributed well.”

■ Match focus: Pages 44-47