1
'Heartbroken is an understatement: George North ruled out of the Lions tour with injury
By Liam Heagney
George North has become the second player in the matter of a few days to be ruled out of Lions tour selection contention with a serious ACL injury, the Wales midfielder getting hurt in weekend action with the Ospreys in the Rainbow Cup.
Gallagher Premiership club Wasps ruled England's Joe Launchbury out until 2022 after he took a blow to his left knee before half-time in their 39-29 win over Bath at the Ricoh Arena on Sunday.
“Joe Launchbury sustained a complete rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during Sunday’s game against Bath,” read the Wasps statement on Tuesday. “He has had a consultation with a knee specialist, who has confirmed that he will require surgery. Everyone at Wasps wishes Joe all the best for a speedy recovery.”
Now, North has been similarly ruled out of Lions contention ahead of the May 6 squad announcement by Warren Gatland for the tour to South Africa. Having thrived in the Wales midfield during their recent 2021 Guinness Six Nations title win, North was viewed as a serious contender to go on his third successive Lions tour having been picked on the wing in 2013 and 2017.
Ospreys began their Rainbow Cup campaign with a 36-14 victory over the Cardiff Blues at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday but that win was marred by concerns for North who limped from the field in the second half.
An Ospreys statement on Wednesday has now confirmed the worst for the 29-year-old who has 105 caps, 102 for Wales and another three with the Lions. "The Ospreys can confirm wing George North has suffered an ACL injury to his right knee and will be ruled out for the rest of the season. The Wales wing saw a specialist in London earlier this week and will undergo surgery next week.
North also tweeted: “Sport can be cruel. We all know the risks when we take the field. Unfortunately, I ruptured my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) on Saturday and will need surgery next week. Heartbroken is an understatement.”
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
Go to comments