World Cup injury worry for Wales as Ireland win warm-up Test

Rhys Patchell’s third concussion in a year handed Wales a big World Cup injury scare as Ireland topped the world rankings for the first time with a 19-10 victory in Dublin.

Fly-half Patchell was bulldozed by flanker CJ Stander in the build-up to the game’s first try, as boss Joe Schmidt toasted his final match at the Aviva Stadium by steering Ireland to the top of World Rugby’s rankings.

Wales confirmed that Patchell failed a Head Injury Assessment (HIA) and had suffered a concussion, the number 10 lasting little more than 20 minutes.

Now head coach Warren Gatland will face a nervous wait to see if the 26-year-old can recover in time for the World Cup, with Wales kick-starting their Pool D campaign against Georgia on September 23.

Ireland were left to sweat a possible knee injury for wing Keith Earls, amid a confidence-boosting victory where Kearney, Tadhg Furlong and James Ryan all bagged tries.

Head coach Schmidt and captain Rory Best will relinquish their roles after the World Cup, and both claimed the Aviva Stadium sign-off they so craved.

Scarlets playmaker Patchell this week dubbed concussion the “invisible injury”, when running the rule over a torrid year including two head injuries and a torn hamstring.

The talented outside-half will be desperately hoping for some good news now though, with his World Cup adventure in the balance. Saturday’s Dublin clash was his first Wales start in 15 months, and his rotten injury luck struck again.