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Wales reveal level of care taken to ensure concussed Dan Biggar is symptom-free and safe to face France
By Online Editors
Warren Gatland says that Wales have done “due diligence” and “covered all the bases” in terms of fly-half Dan Biggar’s recovery from concussion.
Biggar suffered head injuries in successive World Cup games against Australia and Fiji, but he has met all targets and will line up in Sunday’s quarter-final appointment with France.
“He felt better after the (Fiji) game, it was clear,” Wales head coach Gatland said. “So we went through, made sure in terms of consulting the right people and making sure that they were aware of everything, getting him scanned, (the) independent consultant, that was important.
“So we feel that we’ve gone through that due diligence and making sure we’ve covered all the bases in terms of Dan. He has obviously done all the protocols, been fit for three or four days in terms of having passed those, so we are obviously taking all the proper precautions from our point of view.
“He’s desperate as a player to play, but yeah, there’s always… we’ve been conscious in the past, and George North in the past has had a few knocks and other players.
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“And we have just got to make sure if it does happen, if he gets a knock in the next few games, the next couple of months, obviously there would probably be a different course of action. But he is very confident, you know that he is 100 per cent.”
The Welsh Rugby Union said it had “worked collaboratively” with World Rugby to deliver the highest level of care for Biggar. The WRU said that Biggar remained symptom-free after his last game. Management had included MRI scanning and two consultations with a globally-renowned independent concussion consultant from Australia.
Biggar, centres Jonathan Davies (knee) and Hadleigh Parkes (shoulder), plus wing George North (ankle), have all been named in the Wales starting line-up to face France in Oita.
Gatland has selected the same team that accounted for Pool D rivals Australia last month, with Aaron Wainwright, Justin Tipuric and Josh Navidi forming the back row unit, and Ross Moriarty being on the bench where Adam Beard provides lock cover instead of Aaron Shingler.
Gatland added: “Hadleigh took a full part in Friday’s training session. That was the first time he had taken a part (since) he got a knock on the shoulder. Jonathan trained two days ago, so he was fit. As a squad, we are pretty healthy, really.”
As for tackling France – they knocked Wales out in the 2011 World Cup semi-finals – Gatland said: “They are a big team, a physical team. We’ve had a great record against them – we’ve won seven of the last eight games – and the one we lost was the 100-minute game in Paris where they scored in the last minute.
“But even in saying that, they have always been close games and we are going in with a lot of belief, a lot of self-confidence and are really excited about the game. We are feeling really positive about the way we have prepared. We had a great training session on Friday morning. There was an edge to this week and the players have been incredibly professional in the way they have prepared.
“The staff have done extra work, and in doing that we have tried to nail off every situation because we know it’s knockout stages. The message to the players we’ve been driving is you have got two choices here – we are either on the plane on Monday going home, or we are here until the end of the tournament.”
- Press Association
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Latest Comments
SCW really dislikes Eddie, doesn't he?
His words in 2019 before the RWC final that he now says should have resulted in Eddie's firing:
"Was Saturday’s sensational World Cup semi-final win over New Zealand England’s greatest ever performance? Yes, unquestionably, would be my answer."
So let's fire the coach one game later? Duh!
Go to commentsIreland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
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