Wales dealt a last-minute blow as star full-back Liam Williams is set for the MISS Six Nations final against France… and Warren Gatland’s pre-match adjustments see Christ Tshiunza absent from preparations ahead of the date with Les blue
- Manager Gatland will be unable to recall Williams due to a shoulder injury
- Wales train in Nice before facing Les Bleus at the Stade de France
- Halfpenny, Rees-Zammit and Adams all in contention to replace No 15
Star Wales fullback Liam Williams will miss his team’s Six Nations final with title-chasing France in Paris on Saturday because of a shoulder injury.
Warren Gatland’s team are training in Nice this week to prepare for Les Bleus and have also lost reserve hooker Scott Baldwin to a pectoral problem. Sam Parry has been called up.
France, who can still win the Championship if they beat Wales and Ireland, who are chasing a Grand Slam, lose to England in Dublin, will be without Paul Willemse, who has a thigh problem.
Surprisingly, Wales head coach Gatland opted to exclude promising Exeter striker Christ Tshiunza from his team’s preparations in France.
Tshiunza started Wales’ third round loss to England and is uninjured, but is back with his club rather than in Nice.
Liam Williams has been a lynchpin of manager Warren Gatland’s Wales team, and he will be sorely missed when Wales go toe to toe with a riotous France.
On the 15th he was sent off in the second half of Wales against Italy, after scoring a try in the first half
Leigh Halfpenny, Louis Rees-Zammit or Josh Adams will be considered as the 15th options to replace Williams at the Stade de France.
Wales’ base on the Côte d’Azur this week has seen them train in 18-degree temperatures and use the sea on Nice’s Promenade des Anglais to recover from the cold water.
Following a much-needed victory over Italy in Rome, Gatland and his players are using the trip to Nice to mimic the trip and preparations they will make at the World Cup, also in France, later this year.
“I think the team is growing over the course of the tournament,” Gatland’s attacking assistant Alex King said on Tuesday. We all want to get to the end of the journey a little sooner, but it will take time. Combinations take time. The players are still learning about me as a coach.
“I’m still learning about them as players.”
Wales had lost 12 of their last 15 games before their extra points win in Rome.
Off the pitch, the Welsh game has also been in turmoil with players threatening to strike ahead of the defeat to England amid ongoing contractual and budget uncertainty.
Asked if he felt Wales’ attack could be underway by the time of the World Cup in September, King added: ‘Definitely. It’s been a tough few weeks, I’m not going to hide anything about it.
‘Of course, you want to win test matches. But if you’re doing a job and it’s difficult, if you have a good group, then you have a great chance to come out on the other side.
‘We are very lucky to have honest and hard-working players and coaches. We will stick together and whatever happens this weekend we will learn and improve.
Exeter’s Christ Tsiunza has returned to menial duties after his manager stopped him
Italy restored a much-needed spring at the Welsh Pass after a torrid Six Nations campaign
France are firm favorites against the Gatland side as they prepare to take over the tournament.
‘We will go to the summer camps and we will arrive at the World Cup better than we started. This is tough competition and every week is a different challenge. There is nothing more difficult than this week in Paris. But we’ll go up there and attack it and they’ll give us the best chance we can.
France are firm favorites to beat Wales after beating England 53-10.
Meanwhile, former England women’s captain Maggie Alphonsi will be part of an independent review panel investigating allegations of sexism, misogyny, homophobia and racism at the Welsh Rugby Union.
The panel will also examine organizational culture and leadership behaviors at all levels of Welsh rugby’s governing body.
The WRU was rocked earlier this year by allegations of sexism and other accusations made by former employees.