Wales may be reduced to playing their third-choice fly-half Rhys Patchell after Dan Biggar failed a Head Injury Assessment (HIA) during the first-half of their clash with Australia.
Biggar had made Rugby World Cup history in the first half by kicking a drop goal inside 40 seconds, the fastest ever such score in the history of the competition.
He then added a conversion after finding Hadleigh Parkes with a cross-field kick for the first try of the match.
Biggar looked on course for a Man of the Match performance but after just 28 minutes, he was forced off the field for an HIA after trying to tackle Australian centre Samu Kerevi.
The fly-half was replaced by Patchell, a temporary 10-minute replacement under concussion protocol, but after Biggar was found to be medically unfit to return to the game, the substitution was confirmed as permanent.
Wales have already lost one elite level fly-half after Gareth Anscombe damaged his ACL during a summer warm-up Test against England, ruling him out of the World Cup before it had begun.
Biggar was a natural replacement for Anscombe with his cultured boot and brilliance under a high ball with Patchell on the bench.
However, if the Wales 10 has suffered a serious concussion his status in the remainder of the group stage could be under threat.
“HOW ABOUT THAT!”
Dan Biggar has Wales off to a flyer ?#ITVRugby #RWC2019 #AUSvWAL pic.twitter.com/ccxi8tQBm4
— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 29, 2019
Coach Warren Gatland only selected two specialist fly-halves in his 31-man squad and hinted before the competition that full-back Liam Williams could be called upon to cover the position.
Gatland said in August: ‘We need to have a think. Liam Williams has done it in the past. We have some pretty good 9s who can go into that position.
‘No disrespect to Uruguay but I’m hoping that if things go to plan and we’re in a good position we can cover that if we feel we need to rest one of the 10s.
‘We could go with one of them on the bench and not bring them on as a safety. We will look at that. Maybe we need to do some training with Hadleigh [Parkes] there. He has covered 10 in the past.’
Wales do have an advantage in the schedule; their next game, against Fiji, is not until October 9, which could give Biggar enough time to recover from a concussion-related injury.
