Wales share picture of injury doubt Dan Biggar at captain's run training
Wales have shared a photo of Dan Biggar training with a heavily strapped knee on Friday ahead of their Saturday Guinness Six Nations showdown with England at Twickenham.
It looked as though the fly-half would miss out on this Test when he was forced off the field last weekend against Saracens with a hyperextended knee while playing for Northampton Saints.
The initial signs did not look good, but he has made a swift recovery to retain his No10 shirt in Wayne Pivac’s team.
The photo was taken during the captain’s run on Friday and while his knee is strapped, the positive for Wales is that he is playing.
While Jarrod Evans is a player that is more than capable of stepping up in Biggar’s absence, Pivac will be delighted that the 30-year-old is available to play.
Biggar has a long-running history with England and has raised his game to near-superhuman levels in this fixture in the past.
His second-half cameo in the Six Nations last year secured a monumental victory against Eddie Jones’ high-flying team, paving the way for their Grand Slam success. Many English and Welsh fans will also have his imperious 2015 World Cup performance etched in their minds forever.
After two straight losses in February, Biggar is the man Wales want at the helm to guide them through a notoriously tough arena for them to win in.
Fortunately, with Leigh Halfpenny in the team as well, Biggar may be relinquished of his kicking duties from the tee if his knee is a hindrance. It’s why the benefit of having two world-class kickers may be illustrated this weekend.
Questions will linger over the fly-half’s fitness and England will put as much pressure on him as they can early on, but it is likely that Biggar will have a huge say in whether Wales can pull off a victory.
ENGLAND: E Daly (Saracens); A Watson (Bath), M Tuilagi (Leicester), O Farrell (Saracens, capt), J May (Leicester); G Ford (Leicester), B Youngs (Leicester); J Marler (Harlequins), J George (Saracens), K Sinckler (Harlequins), M Itoje (Saracens), G Kruis (Saracens), C Lawes (Northampton), M Wilson (Sale Sharks), T Curry (Sale Sharks). Reps: L Cowan-Dickie (Exeter), E Genge (Leicester), W Stuart (Bath), J Launchbury (Wasps), C Ewels (Bath), B Earl (Saracens), W Heinz (Gloucester), H Slade (Exeter).
WALES: L Halfpenny (Scarlets); G North (Ospreys), N Tompkins (Saracens), H Parkes (Scarlets), L Williams (Scarlets); D Biggar (Northampton), T Williams (Cardiff Blues); R Evans (Scarlets), K Owens (Scarlets), D Lewis (Cardiff Blues), J Ball (Scarlets), A W Jones (Ospreys, capt), R Moriarty (Dragons), J Tipuric (Ospreys), J Navidi (Cardiff Blues). Reps: R Elias (Scarlets), R Carre (Saracens), L Brown (Dragons), A Shingler (Scarlets), T Faletau (Bath), R Webb (Bath), J Evans (Cardiff Blues), J McNicholl (Scarlets).
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Spot on Ben. Dead right. Havili looked great at 10. Easily the highest rugby IQ of any NZ player these days. Getting a kick charged down is a result of getting used to adjusting your depth to the line at 10, which he will sort out with time. But other than that it was an outstanding first effort in that position this year. I think the NZ media has misunderstood this directive from Razor. Havili might rank behind B Barrett this year, but Beuden is 33 this month and won't last much longer. DMaC is great but flaky and not really a test match animal (his efforts in Dunedin versus Aus last year for example). If Razor can't have Mounga, DMaC is too unstructured for Razor (and is just too small for test rugby). Havili will end up our first choice first five, and in partnership with Jodie will be excellent. Two triple threat operators in tandem, and big bodies and tough tacklers to boot. Jordoe will be the ABs goal kicker. I am an Aucklander and Blues (and Warriors) fan, but Havili at 10 is going to be sensational in time… he can be the best first five in the world by the end of this year. No question.
Go to commentsSharks deserved to be far further back by the last quarter. Their tackling was awful, their set pieces were disappointing, their defensive organization was poor (especially on the Kok side of the D line), they kept making unnecessary errors, and they never looked like cracking the Clermont defense during those first 60m. Masuku kept them in touch, with some help from the Clermont generosity on penalty opportunities. Agree with the writer of this article. It was belligerence, and ability to raise their pressure game just enough, that turned the last quarter into a Bok-style shutout. Clermont have a reputation of not playing the full 80m, and there was a bit of that for sure. But, quite often when the intensity of a team drops off in the last quarter credit is due to the opponent for tiring them out. At 60m, with the Kok try, you thought that just maybe the game was on. At 70m, with the Mapimpi contribution, one felt that Clermont were fading, while facing a team that would maintain the pressure game through the final whistle. Good win in the end, but the Sharks are still playing way below their potential. And with their resources, and a coach that has had enough time to figure things out, they are running out of excuses.
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