Losing George a ‘big blow’ – Gatland

WARREN Gatland has spoken about the ‘big blow’ the Lions have suffered after George North was ruled out of the summer tour to South Africa.

The Lions coach (above) effectively confirmed North would have been part of his touring squad to face the Springboks this summer as he lamented the loss of the Wales star.

However, Gatland acknowledged North is unlikely to be the only player to pull out between the announcement of the squad and the actual tour itself.

“It’s a big blow for the Lions and a big blow for George as well,” Gatland told BBC Jersey.

“It’s a big loss for George, I feel for him and wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully he can get back to full fitness and get quickly to playing international rugby.

“What he’s achieved in the game’s been brilliant, 100 Tests, the youngest Welsh player to achieve that goal, and hopefully he’s got more rugby in him.

“I’ve always been a great believer once someone misses out that creates an opportunity for someone else.

“We’ve got to realise we’ve got two or three players that aren’t going to make the tour because they’ve got injuries.

“I presume between now and when we get on the plane and fly out to South Africa, we’re going to pick up one or two others as well.”

North had shone during this year’s Six Nations after switching from wing to centre - a move that Gatland, who handed North his Wales debut back in 2010, had tried on several occasions.

“For a number of years we thought about the potential of him moving from the wing into the midfield and how would he go with that,” added Gatland on North’s switch to midfield.

“We’ve seen players in the past, in particular All Blacks players like Tana Umaga and Ma’a Nonu, start their careers on the wing and ended up moving into the midfield for the All Blacks.

“He was looking incredibly promising from the Six Nations and the way he performed.”