NORTH AGONY
Hobbling Wales wing is major doubt for England showdown
Wales wing George North is a serious doubt to face england in rugby’s six Nations on saturday because of a dead leg.
The lions star is not walking comfortably after suffering the injury against Italy on sunday and he had limited involvement in a 15 v 15 trial match yesterday.
Rob Howley has delayed today’s team announcement by two hours, with fly- half Dan Biggar also facing a fitness test after bruising ribs during the 33-7 win in Rome. ‘We’re worried about them,’ said defence coach shaun edwards. ‘We’re giving Dan and George as long as possible to make the game. They’re vital players for us.
‘It’s a matter of time, as it is bruising, and a question of whether they can handle the pain. George has got really bad bruising and the flight home didn’t help.’
lock luke Charteris is also doubtful but No 8 Taulupe Faletau is set to make his return at the Principality stadium.
‘Taulupe’s available for selection and we’ve got to wait for luke,’ said edwards. ‘luke’s more serious at the moment.’
edwards suggested Faletau and rookie No 10 sam Davies, who is pushing for Biggar’s jersey, could both be on the bench.
‘sometimes you finish with your strongest team rather than start with it,’ he said. ‘sometimes your best attacking players are better on in the last 20 minutes.’
Wales defence coach shaun edwards has compared the showdown with england on saturday to a Wembley cup final — with eddie Jones playing the role of Brian Clough.
Nicknamed Old Big ’ead, Clough once revelled in his success as a football manager by saying: ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day, but I wasn’t on that particular job.’
Jones is also a master of selfassured quips, joking that his undefeated england side are ‘petrified’ of Cardiff and ready to be pelted with daffodils during the warm-up.
‘are there daffodils around this time of year?’ responded edwards. ‘I don’t know. It feels a bit cold for daffodils! You want characters in the game. eddie is great for the game.
‘saying his players are petrified is just another way of throwing down a challenge. It’s smart coaching. He’s a clever bloke is eddie.
‘You’ve seen it in the past with football managers like Brian Clough. They were a bit outspoken, weren’t they?’
Dubbed ‘the greatest manager england never had’, Clough is best remembered for his achievements with Nottingham Forest, where he won back-to-back european Cups in 1979 and 1980.
as national coach, Jones hopes to guide england to their 16th consecutive victory and the fitness of Wales wing George North and No 10 Dan Biggar could be key.
‘england are the form team at the moment, on a fantastic winning run,’ said edwards (below), who compared this weekend to a rugby league Grand Final at Wembley stadium. ‘They averaged 33 points a match in 2016 and are a formidable attacking outfit.
‘ They have good go- forward, power runners to get over the advantage line, intelligent rugby players at 9, 10 and 12 and guys out wide with running ability. We had the best defence in the last two World Cups and we are slowly getting back to that.’
If Biggar passes a fitness test this morning — with Wales delaying their team announcement — his defensive ability is likely to see him start ahead of sam Davies. Rookie No 10 Davies marshalled a 30point swing from the bench against Italy on sunday, but edwards suggested the 23-year-old could have to wait for a first start.
‘We did not have much defending to do in the second half,’ said edwards. ‘ We had all the ball when sam came on and only had to make 11 tackles.
‘sam had some sublime touches which contributed to tries.
‘We were very happy with his impact and sometimes your best attacking players are better to be on in the last quarter when most tries are scored.’
Davies developed his heads-up approach as a central midfielder with swansea City academy, where he faced the likes of Chelsea and liverpool. While Jones — also compared last week to Us President Donald Trump — never had the chance to oversee one of Clough’s training sessions, he often visits Premier league teams. This week, however, it was the turn of england manager Gareth southgate to visit Pennyhill Park and he agreed that Jones was ‘fascinating to hear’. england’s preparations for saturday’s seismic encounter in Cardiff have been hampered by doubts surrounding Wales’s choice of No 10 and the availability of North.
as the man charged with avoiding a repeat of the Welsh onslaught in 2013 — when they claimed a record 30-3 win over england — Paul Gustard has been trying to cover all bases.
Jones’s defence coach explained how the Welsh debate over their starting fly-half would impact on england’s approach.
He said: ‘sam is flatter to the line and he takes on the line more. Biggar is deeper back, but he has other strengths.
‘The kick and regather is definitely a strength of Dan Biggar’s game; he is aerially very strong. He’s got a good cross-field kick as well and you saw a lot of that in the first half against Italy — and against south africa as well.
‘Davies comes to the line flatter and tries to put balls across the face of defenders, so we just have to have an awareness about their individual skills.
‘Whichever 10 they pick, Wales are trying to develop more of a twosided attack. It is evolving. We’re definitely seeing a different style of Wales. But in Italy, after the first 30-40 minutes, they became more of the traditional Wales, as they have been in the last eight years under Gatland.’
It seems increasingly likely that North will not be fit to play, which would clearly hurt Wales’s prospects, because england know just how much of a danger the giant lions wing poses.
‘George is a fantastic player,’ said Gustard. ‘He is big, strong and quick. Teams may or may not put more numbers on him, but he is still a handful whichever way you look at it. He can hurt you because of his strength and speed.’
england are preparing to deploy an inexperienced back-row combination, with Jack Clifford on standby to start at openside.
The coaches are evidently willing to back a selection hunch, despite a lack of evidence, with Gustard adding: ‘We feel with Jack, against this opposition, he’s going to offer what we want to do in attack. The numbers that he’s been providing for Harlequins have been very good. From week to week we always address selection and see who is deserving to be in the 23.
‘He’s quick, he’s strong and he has the ability to play six, seven or eight. He’s good over the ball. Defensively, his game has picked up this year with Harlequins.
‘He is a very talented kid and he’s put himself back in the shop window for a starting spot this weekend.’