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Hope for Wales as Saints give explanation for North's last minute withdrawl
By Alex Fisher
Warren Gatland can breathe a sigh of relief after Northampton Saints confirmed George North only missed their Anglo-Welsh Cup clash with Sale Sharks as a precaution.
North was due to make his first start since October in Saturday's match at the AJ Bell Stadium, the winger having made two appearances from the bench after recovering from a knee injury.
However, North was replaced in the starting XV minutes before kick-off, raising doubts about his fitness ahead of the Six Nations.
Northampton went on to win 24-20, but the focus after the match was the situation with the Wales international.
Interim head coach Alan Dickens confirmed there was no new injury to the 25-year-old and that he was simply not risked.
"George North pulled out just before kick-off," said Dickens. "He was just tight so it was a precautionary measure to hold him back.
"He's probably had a tough week training with Wales.
"It was an unfortunate last-minute withdrawal so not ideal."
Warren Gatland is due to name his XV to face Scotland in their Six Nations opener on Tuesday.
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Agree we need a 10, 12, 13 refresh. ASAP. Well, next season now lol. Reiko should be put back on the wing. He'll be an absolute menace there. Imagine 11 Reiko 14 Clarke 15 Jordan as the backfield unit.
Go to commentsIt took a whole season to wash the Foster stink out to be fair. There's still been substantial change though. I think only 7 starters from the RWC QF v IRE started the IRE test in Dublin. This year wasn't the year for full innovation, transition needs to be balanced, & incremental. The new coaches will be able to stamp their full mark on the ABs from 2025 when Razor will select his first proper squad from a mega talented player pool. Exciting times ahead.
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