Pivac keeping his fingers crossed as star players battle injuries
IT is reaching the stage where Wayne Pivac might fear Wales’s players could pick up injuries going onto A Question of Sport.
Bumps don’t come up in twos for the national head coach these days but 22s.
In a single day earlier this campaign, Wales waved goodbye for the autumn to three key players, namely Alun Wyn Jones, Ross Moriarty and Taulupe Faletau.
Then Rhodri Jones suffered a calf injury without setting foot on the field, and Ken Owens also could not take part in the campaign because of a troublesome back injury.
There is also a stack of players who were unable to be considered for selection because of an assortment of knocks, among them front-liners such as Justin Tipuric and George North.
But on the basis that nothing lasts for ever, not even the thorniest of problems, there may be better news for Wales’s head coach heading towards the 2022 Six Nations.
Mark Orders checks out the casualty list and when it should start to reduce.
A-listers who should be back for the Six Nations
Justin Tipuric
THE Ospreys captain suffered a shoulder injury playing for the British and Irish Lions against Japan in the summer.
Initially there were hopes it wasn’t serious, with Warren Gatland at first saying it appeared it might just be a “sting “.
Sadly, the reality has proved different.
The Ospreys subsequently issued a statement revealing Tipuric would be out at least until Christmas.
Asked whether he would make it back in December, head coach Toby Booth said: “Of course you hope.
“But if you have a shattered scapula, it’s really out of our hands.
“It’s about the healing process and everyone heals slightly differently.”
While Taine Basham showed up well in the opening two autumn games, Tipuric’s experience is vast and his status as an elite player indisputable. He is also one of the Wales team’s leaders.
Ross Moriarty
He sustained shoulder damage in a double tackle against New Zealand.
The ultra-tough Dragon was booked for shoulder surgery but there has been no official statement on when he is set to return.
However, a source has suggested he could be back in training in December or January, which would put him on course to appear in the Six Nations.
Taulupe Faletau
THE Bath No. 8 rolled an ankle on his return from South Africa with the Lions, an injury which prevented him training before the autumn Tests.
He still linked up with Wales, but was soon released back to his club.
Given that there were suggestions he could figure for Pivac’s side in this batch of matches, the expectation might be that Faletau would be ready for the Six Nations.
George North
NORTH suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament playing for the Ospreys against Cardiff in April.
He had just completed an impressive Six Nations and almost certainly would have toured with the Lions had the 6ft 4in, 17st 2lb utility back stayed fit. But it wasn’t to be and North headed into a prolonged programme of rehab.
Like Tipuric, he is expected back around the turn of the year.
That he’ll go straight into the Wales team is surely also not in dispute.
Ken Owens
A back injury prevented him from playing any part in Wales’s autumn games.
But the Sheriff is not expected to be on the sidelines for much longer.
“He’ll definitely be back before the end of the year,” Pivac has said.
“I’d like to think he’ll get a number of club games in before the Six Nations.”
Ryan Elias has banged in two strong performances, with Sunday’s display against Fiji his best in a Wales jersey, but Owens brings experience and physicality and Pivac will be pleased to see him return to fitness.
Those who’ll need longer on sidelines
Alun Wyn Jones
WELSH rugby’s great warrior suffered a shoulder injury in the game with New Zealand, the same one he hurt on Lions duty in the summer.
It is also a major worry, with Jones expected to be ruled out for the entire Six Nations.
For most players, a serious injury at the age of 36 would be cause for pause for serious thought.
But Pivac believes the 149-cap Wales international still has more battles to wage at Test level.
“The intention is always to see if Al can get to the World Cup,” the coach said. “I think it’s a realistic goal. “You’ve just got to see him in training and when he is playing, the efforts he puts in. I don’t see anything going anywhere near backwards in terms of his performances.
“A bit of time off, we spoke about this before Al left camp, it’s not ideal for him. We are all looking forward to him playing 150 Test matches for Wales.”
Josh Navidi
THE dreadlocked destroyer dislocated a shoulder playing for Cardiff in their United Rugby Championship clash with the Bulls on October 9.
He subsequently underwent surgery and faces a fight to feature in the Six Nations.
A comeback date of late March or early April has been suggested, making it improbable Navidi will see any action in the tournament in 2022.
Leigh Halfpenny
A horror knee injury picked up playing for Wales against Argentina last summer has left Halfpenny with a long-haul recovery.
He is said to be targeting an April return.
The bump came seconds into his 100th Test.
Turning 33 in December, Halfpenny is still four short of his century of caps for Wales. The little big man’s status as one of Welsh rugby’s most popular players is not in doubt.
Most will surely hope he completes his Wales century and beyond.
Other contenders
Dan Lydiate (Ospreys), Josh Macleod (Scarlets), Leon Brown (Dragons), James Botham (Cardiff), Michael Collins (Ospreys), Ashton Hewitt (Dragons), Dewi Lake (Ospreys), Rhodri Jones (Ospreys), James Davies (Scarlets), Rhys Patchell (Scarlets).
WHERE to start? Lydiate and Lake are in the Ospreys’ long-term casualty group but, as with Tipuric and North, are on the mend and probably looking at pre-six Nations comebacks.
Of Lake, Pivac has declared that the powerful hooker and former Wales U20s captain is “on our radar big time”.
And so he should be. If the Ospreys, Wales and Lake himself can sort out the converted backrower’s throwing, he could be a fixture on the Test scene for years.
Michael Collins should also be fit and firing in the coming weeks after the calf strain which saw him hobble off while playing for the Ospreys against Cardiff on October 2.
The Dragons’ Leon Brown could be back in the next batch of United Rugby Championship games as he recovers from a stinger, while there’s a chance Ashton Hewitt could make the season’s run-in after knee surgery.
James Davies still hasn’t returned to playing because of concussion problems, with the flanker last seen on the pitch when Wales faced Georgia almost exactly 12 months ago.
There is better news on Josh Macleod, who is poised to return imminently from a long-term Achilles injury, while James Botham was tipped for a November return after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Patchell has had multiple issues over the past year, with a calf issue his latest problem, ruling him out the first block of games for the Scarlets in the United Rugby Championship.
He started back in the Dragons v Scarlets development game in Newport last Friday. Good news for Pivac, then.
Every little counts.