George North, who missed the final 10 weeks of last season after suffering three concussions in five months, is still being assessed by Wales’s medical staff after taking part in two overseas training camps and will not be risked in Saturday’s World Cup warmup match.
North is following World Rugby protocols laid down for players who suffer more than one concussion in a calendar year. The Northampton wing would almost certainly not have been involved in the sellout friendly against Ireland at the Millennium Stadium anyway, with the Wales head coach, Warren Gatland, intending to use the match to look at fringe players before a squad cull next week. However, North has yet to be passed fit for the return in Dublin at the end of the month.
North’s fitness is key for Wales as they look to go one better than 2011 when they reached the World Cup semi-final. They have already lost the centre Jonathan Davies through injury while the wing Liam Williams is not expected to play in any of the warmups as he recovers from a foot problem.
“George is going pretty well,” said the kicking coach, Neil Jenkins. “He has done a lot of skills work and a fair bit of the rugby training we have done so far but he is still picking up on a few things and that’s to do with the medical staff. The hope is that he keeps progressing and will take some part in our games before the World Cup. I would not have thought he will be involved on Saturday but he could be involved in Dublin. We will wait and see what happens over the coming weeks.”
Jenkins said Wales were optimistic Williams and the prop Samson Lee, who had an achilles operation four months ago, will be fit for the World Cup. “Liam is progressing well but he will not be available for the first few [warmup] games. He is an important player for us, but there is always going to be a slight concern when it comes to fitness. If you do not play in matches, you are not training at the level of the rest of the players. Liam and Sansom are important to us and if we can get them up and running, they will make a difference to the squad. We would like to think they can play a part in the tournament.”
Wales spent last month in Switzerland, training at altitude, and Qatar, where they were exposed to 40C heat and high humidity. The aim was to ensure they will be conditioned to make the right decisions under pressure at the end of their group matches against England and Australia, having been drawn in the most demanding of the pools.
“We have two world-class sides in our pool while Fiji and Uruguay are no mugs,” Jenkins said. “The players have worked extremely hard in tough and brutal conditions and they are in pretty good nick. They are only going to get fitter and all the work is necessary if you are going to win a World Cup, even if other sides have been doing the same thing. The games against England and Australia can go either way and we have to be positive.
“We have been monitoring Australia’s progress in the Rugby Championship. They got away with it against South Africa, but they showed what they are all about at the end when they showed their never-say-die attitude. It will be interesting to see how they get on against the All Blacks this weekend in the title decider. We face Ireland on the same day and want to see where we stand.”
Wales are preparing for a battle with Toulon over the full-back Leigh Halfpenny when they tour New Zealand in June next year. The French Top 14 final will be played at the end of the month and the club’s owner, Mourad Boudjellal, has said he expects Halfpenny to remain in France if Toulon make the play-offs.
“There is no greater honour than representing your country and if Leigh is fit and ready he would want to be playing for Wales,” Jenkins said. “It is a massive year with the World Cup followed by the Six Nations and the trip to New Zealand where the Lions will be 12 months later.”
