George North will play his second international in eight days when Wales face Italy at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday following a long lay-off under the concussion protocol. However, the 23-year-old wing has said he is not preoccupied by avoiding another knock to the head.
North played the whole 80 minutes of Wales’s victory over Ireland in Dublin last weekend, his first match since the end of March after he suffered three concussions in less than five months. If he is concussed again this year, he would face spending the rest of the season on the sidelines but, after winning his 50th Wales cap in Dublin, the only impact he is thinking about is the one he hopes Wales make in the World Cup.
“For me it was never a big issue about returning to play,” said North. “I did everything properly and ticked all the boxes so I knew I could go out there in Dublin and give it my all. I was well advised throughout by Wales and Northampton: I saw the right people and they made the decision that I would not play again until last weekend.
“I knew I would come back and that it was just a matter of time. After playing for 80 minutes against Ireland it [the prospect of another head injury] will not be on my mind. I appreciate the care of people but it was what it was and you have just got to focus on getting fit and well. Italy is our last dress rehearsal before the World Cup and we want to go into the tournament firing.”
North is one of 10 survivors from the starting lineup in Dublin with the Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, fielding a stronger side than he had been considering at the start of the week when a number of the side were making their first appearances since last season.
“We were a bit rusty and some of the players need another run,” said Gatland. “Another game will help them. Italy may have lost heavily in Scotland last weekend but they are always tough to play against. We had a good win in Dublin but that match showed we have a lot to work on. That is why we are giving Rhys Webb and Dan Biggar another start: they need a bit more time, even if they were not as rusty as the Irish half-backs.”
Gatland wore Ireland down last weekend after playing for territory rather than taking risks. Asked about the recent observation of the former New Zealand, and Wales, coach Graham Henry that Wales did not score as many tries as a team of their ability should, he invited his fellow Kiwi to a training session.
“There is not a lot of space in the modern game,” said Gatland. “We have the ability to score tries, but you have to be smart. “Space isn’t created by just putting the ball through the hands and creating an overlap like we used to do 20 years ago. It is normally about someone missing a tackle or making a system error which creates a bit of a hole somewhere and that creates an opportunity for points-scoring.”
