North faces ban and No. 9 rivals injured
Difficult weekend for Pivac as rugby resumes
GEORGE North is facing a ban and two of his Wales colleagues could be forced into a spell on the sidelines as Welsh rugby made a dramatic return at the weekend.
Wales and Lions wing North was sent off for the first time in his senior career in the Ospreys’ 20-20 draw with the Dragons at the Liberty Stadium yesterday.
The 28-year-old was dismissed in the 14th minute for a dangerous tackle in the air on opposing wing Ashton Hewitt.
And Wales coach Wayne Pivac will be hoping for positive news on scrum-half rivals Gareth Davies and Tomos Williams, who both left the field injured in the Scarlets’ impressive 32-12 defeat of Cardiff Blues on Saturday.
Pivac will also be keeping his fingers crossed that North is not handed a lengthy ban. North, who had earlier scored a try to give the Ospreys a flying start, got his timing all wrong as he collided with the airborne Hewitt, who spun in the air and crashed to the ground on his neck.
It was a clumsy rather than malicious tackle, but it gave referee Adam Jones little choice but to reach for a red after Hewitt was taken out.
Hewitt was uninjured and was able to carry on, and earned his side a draw in the dying seconds when he dived over to score in the corner. Dean Ryan’s men would have won had Sam Davies landed the tricky touchline conversion.
New Ospreys head coach Toby Booth, who was denied a winning start to his reign by Hewitt’s score, said: “There was so much to be positive about and a lot to be unhappy about.
“The number one thing to take away was the character shown. Moments change games. It did not matter what I made of the red card. The man made the decision and we move on.
“George is disappointed and he has apologised to the team and everybody knows George is not a malicious guy.”
On Saturday Davies and Williams were both forced off in quick succession either side of half-time.
Scarlets No. 9 Davies took a knock to his backside just before the break, while Williams departed soon after with his left arm supported in a makeshift sling.
Blues boss John Mulvihill said: “We are hopeful that Tomos will be okay.
“I think it looked worse than it is. The joint didn’t come out.”
It was more of a dead leg problem for Davies, said Scarlets coach Glenn Delaney.
“Gareth is a power player and, for those who understand the posterior chain of the body, that’s where the power comes from,” said the Kiwi. “So it’s a bruise in a fairly sensitive area.”