LONDON – Wales’ Coach Warren Gatland has brought in Gareth Anscombe and James Hook as replacements as Wales’ injury crisis continues.
If Gatland expected the road to get easier after Wales’ remarkable victory at Twickenham on Saturday, he was sadly mistake with the win coming at a huge cost after both Hallam Amos and Scott Williams suffered tournament ending injuries. And with a number of players in the squad currently under an injury cloud including fullback Liam Williams, Gatland has really had to be creative with his replacements.
Hook and Anscombe come into the squad as direct replacements for Amos and Scott Williams despite Anscombe still being under an injury cloud.
Amos and Scott Williams’ injuries are added to the long list of Welsh players ruled out of the tournament including; Leigh Halfpenny, Rhys Webb, Eli Walker, Cory Allen, Jonathan Davies, Jack Dixon.
James Hook’s Welsh career had looked to be finished after not being selected in Wales’ official Rugby World Cup squad despite playing a World Cup warm-up match against Ireland in August. But how fortunes change as he will likely be in the team to play Fiji at Millennium Stadium on Thursday.