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Wales' decision to play Davies against the All Blacks is now under scrutiny
By Josh Raisey
Wales and Scarlets have been dealt the damaging injury revelation that Jonathan Davies and Rhys Patchell will miss a large part of the season.
Both players require surgery for injuries sustained during the recent World Cup, with Davies set to miss at least six months with a knee injury and Patchell up to four months with his shoulder.
This is not a great start to Wayne Pivac’s tenure as Wales head coach, as he is set to face the Barbarians - coached by Warren Gatland - on November 30.
Davies initially suffered the injury against Fiji in the pool stages of the RWC and his participation in the tournament looked in jeopardy.
He missed the following game against Uruguay and pulled out just before the quarter-final against France, but returned for the semi-final against the Springboks and the bronze play-off against the All Blacks with his knee heavily strapped.
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This injury always looked severe and it is a testament to the 31-year-old’s durability and commitment to the national team that he played on through what must have been a lot of pain.
While Patchell’s injury is just a part of rugby, questions are being raised as to whether the length of Davies’ injury lay-off could have been reduced.
The outside centre is one of the most crucial players to the Welsh team, and it was understandable that both he and Gatland wanted him on the field in the semi-final.
However, while it would be wrong to say nothing was riding on the bronze final against the All Blacks, it lacked the gravitas that the previous game had for obvious reasons.
The Wales team was ravaged by injury for the match against Steve Hansen’s side, and it was a momentous occasion as it brought an end to Gatland’s twelve-year stint at the helm of Welsh rugby.
Hoping to end a 66-year losing streak against New Zealand, there was a strong drive to win that match, but they fell short and the outing could have exacerbated Davies’ injury.
Moreover, this decision to play Davies was not only potentially detrimental to the player himself but to the Scarlets.
It is a long-held view of fans of the regional sides in Wales that the national team does not think of the regions, and the treatment of Davies is not going to help the Welsh Rugby Union’s cause.
The Scarlets will now be without the pair for the majority of the season, while Wales have been handed a heavy blow in their hopes of retaining the Six Nations title.
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Latest Comments
Willis is decent in the lineout to be fair, but definitely lacking a heavyweight ball carrier.
I think between Underhill, Curry, and Willis there isn't a huge amount between them. Maybe Willis would be good enough to start, but he wouldn't massively improve the team.
Go to commentsI'm not sure he is getting there and I don't think he will. Progress has been glacial honestly. Our attacking structure hasn't improved at all, except that he's now picking Marcus Smith who is a one man attack at the moment... And our defence for obvious reasons is now awful. I would have faith in Borthwick if I had faith in his assistant coaches... But I don't think Wigglesworth is an attack coach and why would he be? He's never been an attack coach and he spent his entire career box kicking. Our defence coach has never been employed as a defence coach and is still the head coach of a second division French side with an awful defensive record. The fact that Borthwick appointed them both is a poor reflection. If we still had Felix Jones and we had Mike Catt/Nick Evans or someone in the attack coach role, I'd be content to be patient and that results will come. With Wigglesworth and Joe El Abd, I have no faith that we will improve and I've seen no signs that we are.
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