Giles and Patchell called up for tour
WALES have called up uncapped teenage winger Keelan Giles and the versatile Rhys Patchell to their tour of New Zealand amid growing fears that George North will miss the rest of the trip.
Lions wing North injured his hamstring during the dying minutes of yesterday’s 39-21 opening Test defeat to the All Blacks at Auckland’s Eden Park. He’d had a tremendous game, posing a threat every time he received the ball, but he is now expected to be ruled out of the remaining two rubbers.
And there’s also doubt over the fitness of full-back Liam Williams and the adaptable Gareth Anscombe, who both suffered thigh knocks.
None of them has officially been ruled out yet, but sending for 18-year-old Giles, who touched down twice against Ireland in Wales’ opening match at the Under-20 World Championship, and Scarlets signing Patchell is a sure sign of the seriousness of the situation.
Coach Warren Gatland said: “George North damaged a hamstring and it will be assessed to see if he’s going to fit for the rest of the tour while Gareth Anscombe took a knock to a hip.
“It may take a day or two for him to recover but otherwise there was the usual bumps and bruises.”
Giles is a hot prospect, but has yet to establish himself at regional level, while the twice-capped Patchell has moved west from Cardiff Blues because he wants to be play at outsidehalf.
The 23-year-old shone at fullback for the Blues and it may be that’s the position Wales coach Warren Gatland will want him to cover.
The summoning of Giles and Patchell takes the number of callups to five with Ellis Jenkins having replaced Dan Lydiate, Aaron Jarvis taking over from prop Paul James and Aled Davies coming in for Lloyd Williams at scrum-half.
Wales had led 21-18 going into the final quarter, thanks to tries from Taulupe Faletau and Rhys Webb, but the All Blacks took charge in the final quarter and ended up touching down five times in all.
Match report and analysis:
WALES produced one of the best performances on overseas soil in recent times and I didn’t think the final scoreline did true justice to their efforts. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say there were some Herculean displays from some members of Warren Gatland’s side.
Liam Williams was outstanding as a counter-attacking force at full-back, George North ran with the intent of old and made some great inroads.
Dan Biggar and Rhys Webb were superb at half-back and I thought Jamie Roberts was a real handful as well.
And what can you say about Taulupe Faletau? He flew the flag as the stand-out figure in a collective showing by the Welsh pack that will have been hugely appreciated by Wales supporters.
Faletau was quiet by his standards in the game against England, but in the harshest rugby environment there is, he proved that he really is a class act. His work-rate, his energy, his skill-level was phenomenal.
A word for Gethin Jenkins as well, who, at 35, was running around like a player 10 years younger. He also contributed fully to a solid effort in the scrum by Wales.
In the final analysis though, the quest for that elusive victory over New Zealand continues, and there’s no doubt whatsoever that Steve Hansen’s men deserved their win.
You can always count on the All Blacks to go the distance and the way they re-grouped and re-established their superiority when they were trailing 21-18 after 62 minutes was what got them home.
The big question now for Wales is how much has this taken out of them physically and mentally?
By the closing stages they looked fatigued and, apart from the bumps and bruises, they have a job on their hands to lift themselves psychologically.
However difficult recovery is, it is a process Wales have to complete successfully because you can bet New Zealand will come at them even harder in the second and third Tests in Wellington and Dunedin.
There was talk about the hosts being rusty beforehand and I think that was borne out.
New Zealand committed more elementary mistakes than you would expect and Hansen will have made a note of them all. Be under no illusions, they will be rectified and the All Blacks operation will be more clinical next weekend.
Can Wales also raise their game? Can they build on some of the thrilling moments they produced in this encounter?
This is the reality of touring in the modern game.
You rely on your squad and you rely on players being able to recover and go again at