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'Things move so quickly on these tours': Dan Biggar feels for Alun Wyn Jones but urges Lions to move forward

By PA
(Photo ©INPHO/Billy Stickland)

Dan Biggar sympathises with Alun Wyn Jones as he comes to terms with his tour-ending shoulder dislocation, but the Wales fly-half has urged the British and Irish Lions must move on quickly.

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Jones has returned home to Wales to begin treatment on the cruel injury incurred just seven minutes into Saturday’s 28-10 victory over Japan at Murrayfield, concluding his fourth Lions expedition at the earliest opportunity.

Ireland’s Conor Murray has taken over as captain and with the squad departing for South Africa on Sunday evening, Biggar insists they must focus on the players they do have available.

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Springbok coaches on appointment of Conor Murray as captain

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Springbok coaches on appointment of Conor Murray as captain

“Obviously it’s pretty disappointing to lose your captain and your talisman five or six minutes into the game,” Biggar said.

“Alun’s pretty down in the changing room, as you’d expect and you’ve only got to look at his record and experience to know he’s going to be a huge loss.

“But we’re lucky in the group that we’ve got a lot of good leaders, good speakers. Things move so quickly on these tours.

“When you’re in camp, the rest of us almost have to put it to one side and look at what we’ve got.

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“He’s obviously going to be devastated because it’s been a big focus for him over the past year or so.

“It will be tough for him to take. I know he’s got a young family back home and they’ll take up plenty of his time.

“He’s been in the game a long time and achieved pretty much everything. If there is a silver lining, it’s not something he hasn’t done before.”

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G
GrahamVF 2 hours ago
Does South Africa have a future in European competition?

"has SA actually EVER helped to develop another union to maturity like NZ has with Japan," yes - Argentina. You obviously don't know the history of Argentinian rugby. SA were touring there on long development tours in the 1950's

We continued the Junior Bok tours to the Argentine through to the early 70's

My coach at Grey High was Giepie Wentzel who toured Argentine as a fly half. He told me about how every Argentinian rugby club has pictures of Van Heerden and Danie Craven on prominent display. Yes we have developed a nation far more than NZ has done for Japan. And BTW Sa players were playing and coaching in Japan long before the Kiwis arrived. Fourie du Preez and many others were playing there 15 years ago.


"Isaac Van Heerden's reputation as an innovative coach had spread to Argentina, and he was invited to Buenos Aires to help the Pumas prepare for their first visit to South Africa in 1965.[1][2] Despite Argentina faring badly in this tour,[2] it was the start of a long and happy relationship between Van Heerden and the Pumas. Izak van Heerden took leave from his teaching post in Durban, relocated to Argentina, learnt fluent Spanish, and would revolutionise Argentine play in the late 1960s, laying the way open for great players such as Hugo Porta.[1][2] Van Heerden virtually invented the "tight loose" form of play, an area in which the Argentines would come to excel, and which would become a hallmark of their playing style. The Pumas repaid the initial debt, by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park, and emerged as one of the better modern rugby nations, thanks largely to the talents of this Durban schoolmaster.[1]"


After the promise made by Junior Springbok manager JF Louw at the end of a 12-game tour to Argentina in 1959 – ‘I will do everything to ensure we invite you to tour our country’ – there were concerns about the strength of Argentinian rugby. South African Rugby Board president Danie Craven sent coach Izak van Heerden to help the Pumas prepare and they repaid the favour by beating the Junior Springboks at Ellis Park.

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