That pool exit cost Gareth Jenkins his job and the Georgia humiliation triggered Wayne Pivac’s P45 and Gatland’s return. There were only 14 minutes to go and suddenly the memories of last autumn’s home defeat to the Lelos came swarming back, not to mention the embarrassment to Fiji in the 2007 World Cup, the most recent occasion they had competed in this arena. But Gatland was probably relieved to see some passion after his team had worryingly abandoned their intensity.īefore Rees-Zammit applied the finishing touches to Liam Williams’s astute chip, Wales had inexplicably allowed their opponents back into the affair in a frenetic 10-minute second-half passage with Georgia scoring two tries to close within five points, having been 24-7 down. The match also featured a sizeable brawl – involving the replacements, including Biggar – with Taine Basham being sent to the bin. Gatland has previously mentioned Morgan as a No 6. Gatland, who could bring in squad replacements for both Faletau and Anscombe if necessary, signified that Aaron Wainwright will likely move from the blindside to the base of the scrum, with Reffell and the rested Jac Morgan occupying the flanks. However, Faletau presents a huge headache. “We did talk about bringing Dan on but he was under a bit of an injury cloud as well so it was good for young Sam to play 80 minutes and get through that having been thrown in the deep end right at the start of the game,” Gatland said. He’s still got power in his leg.”Īnscombe is an easy fix, with Dan Biggar to return in the playmaking role and Sam Costelow – who was commendable without pulling up any trees as Anscombe’s late replacement – on the bench. “With Gareth, we’re going to assess him over the next 72 hours. We’ll make a decision on his replacement and the balance of the back row next week. He was excellent against Australia with his footwork. It’s tough for him because he didn’t play in the warm-ups. Whether that’s a loose-forward or someone else. “So we’ve got to look at a replacement for Faletau. The 22-year-old’s contribution – as well as that of the all-action openside Tommy Reffell – lit up an afternoon otherwise marred by the injuries and, for a spell anyway, a rather flat performance.įirst, they lost a distraught Anscombe in the warm-up and then looked on in horror as Faletau went off in the 69th minute clutching his left arm. Whoever emerges will doubtless be relieved that Faletau is absent, but they will beware Louis Rees-Zammit, the dashing wing who scored a hat-trick of tries to ensure that his nation topped their pool for the second time in as many Rugby World Cups. Wales will face the winners of Argentina and Japan, who play each other in what is essentially a Pool D knockout. But hopefully he’ll be fit for the quarter-final.”

“Liam probably won’t take a huge part in training in the early part of next week. To add to it all, Liam Williams left the stadium on crutches after what Gatland called a “whack on the knee”, although the Kiwi coach was optimistic the full-back will be ready for Marseille next Saturday. Gareth Anscombe – who, like, Faletau was so influential in the recent drubbing of Australia – was forced to withdraw in the warm-up after sustaining a groin injury that left him distraught and in tears as he faced the end of what is the outside-half’s final World Cup. This will almost certainly be it for the world-class No 8 in the game’s preeminent competition.įor Wales, the dejection may not end there. The 32-year-old missed the last World Cup with a broken collar bone and, after battling back from a calf complaint to make these finals, he had resumed his dominant role. However, this comfortable win could still come back to haunt Warren Gatland’s men after they lost Taulupe Faletau for the rest of the tournament with a broken arm.Īs Gatland acknowledged: “It is a big loss for us.” It verges on the heartbreaking for Faletau himself.

This was hardly a repeat of “The Nightmare in Nantes” that Wales suffered the last time they played a World Cup pool match here.

Pool hand rails for deepend