Wales fullback Williams out of World Cup, Halfpenny comes in for South Africa semi
Record ID:
1438625
Wales fullback Williams out of World Cup, Halfpenny comes in for South Africa semi
- Title: Wales fullback Williams out of World Cup, Halfpenny comes in for South Africa semi
- Date: 25th October 2019
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (OCTOBER 25, 2019) (REUTERS) WALES HEAD COACH WARREN GATLAND AND CAPTAIN ALUN WYN JONES ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) WALES HEAD COACH, WARREN GATLAND, SAYING: "He (fullback Liam Williams) is undoubtedly a big loss from an attacking perspective and what he has achieved in the game the last year or so, but bringing in the experience of someone like Leigh Halfpenny, I think gives us a different element. He is probably defensively the best fullback in the world in terms of his aerial game, his coverage defensively and to be honest we had a long discussion and a long debate about whether we started Leigh in the first place." NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) WALES HEAD COACH, WARREN GATLAND, SAYING: "Leigh was probably fairly unlucky he wasn't in the team to start with. We are happy. Obviously disappointed for Liam, world class player, but to bring in the experience of someone like Leigh Halfpenny and even then Ross Moriarty coming into the side as well, it is a change but we don't think we are weakened in any way with the changes that have been made." WALES RUGBY UNION LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) WALES HEAD COACH, WARREN GATLAND, SAYING: "It will probably be a kicking fest. I mean, they (South Africa) kicked 30 times against Japan. We have just got to be able to handle their game. It won't be the prettiest game in the world. It will be a tight test match with probably teams playing a bit of territory, depending on what the weather is like. A lot of ball will go in the air and we have got to be able to handle that and they have got to be able to handle our game as well." RUGBY WORLD CUP LOGO / WALES RUGBY UNION LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) WALES HEAD COACH, WARREN GATLAND, SAYING: "You have got a chance to do something special. In your life you get those chances that come along very rarely and you have to grab them with both hands. When you want something bad enough, when you really, really want it, it can happen. I think we have got a group of players who really want to give a good performance on Sunday and hopefully get to the World Cup final." GATLAND AND WYN JONES LEAVING
- Embargoed: 8th November 2019 05:13
- Keywords: Wales England Japan South Africa Rugby World Cup rugby union Warren Gatland New Zealand Liam Williams
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Rugby Union,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA001B2LGI0V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Wales fullback Liam Williams has been ruled out of the remainder of the Rugby World Cup after sustaining an ankle injury at training with Leigh Halfpenny replacing him in the side for Sunday's (October 27) semi-final against South Africa.
Centre Jonathan Davies has also been named for the match in Yokohama on Sunday after he was a late withdrawal from the team that beat France 20-19 in the quarter-final.
Williams is the second withdrawal for the Six Nations champions this week, after loose forward Josh Navidi injured his hamstring in the quarter-final, with winger Owen Lane called up as a replacement.
Wales head coach Warren Gatland on Friday (October 25) said it was a blow to lose Williams, who has won 62 caps and started all of Wales's World Cup games except one, but that in Halfpenny, his replacement might be the best defensive fullback in the world.
With both team's game built around defence and a clever kicking game, Gatland doesn't expect the match, likely to be played in heavy rain, to be the prettiest encounter of the tournament.
Wales have never before reached the final of the Rugby World Cup, whilst South Africa have won the tournament twice.
(Production: Jack Tarrant) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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