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'We are not panicking' - George North reassures Welsh faithful following England defeat

George North in action for Wales against England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

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George North says there is no panic in the Wales camp following their Rugby World Cup warm-up defeat by England.

Wales’ 33-19 reversal at Twickenham on Sunday meant a first loss for Warren Gatland’s men since February last year, ending a run of 14 wins.

It also dashed their hopes of replacing New Zealand at No.1 in the World Rugby rankings.

And there was a major setback for them on Monday, when flyhalf Gareth Anscombe, who went off just before halftime, was ruled out of World Cup contention due to a serious knee injury.

Despite the Six Nations champions matching England 3-3 on tries, with wing North among the scorers, George Ford’s goal-kicking proved a key difference.

Wales have an immediate opportunity to avenge that result when they host England on Saturday, and North knows it is all about a bigger picture.

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“We were a bit rusty and I reckon we left four tries out there,” North said.

“But we are not panicking. It is what it is. We have to address that and we have a week to get it right for the next test and we go again.

“You never like losing games, but it has put us in a good place to mentally focus and work out where we need to go.

“This is what these games are for.

“This is what the opportunity is to allow us to play these big games, turn that around and play the weekend after to simulate what is coming up.

“We are still fighting for positions in the squad and every second counts in these weeks and games.

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“This is the pointed end of the stick now, when the games come thick and fast.”

Following their re-match against England on Sunday, Wales will face Ireland in back-to-back fixtures in Cardiff and Dublin early next month.

Gatland’s side will open their World Cup campaign against Georgia in Toyota on September 23.

– With AAP

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TI 4 hours ago
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Rieko took literally years to turn from a defensive liability at 13 into a guy, who’s defensively sound as it befits the position. And it all came at the cost of him being much less of an offensive threat, than what he used to be. Proctor is a natural 13, he handles, passes, and kicks way better than Rieko ever will, he just isn’t as fast.


It’s unfair to judge Tupaea on the handful of games he’s had in 2022 before he got nearly crippled by a Wallaby lock. What could Tupaea/Proctor pairing be, if they got the same amount of chances as Jordie/Rieko?


Because no matter how you spin it, playing a player outside of his natural position is a poor asset management. No matter how talented he is, he still competes against players who had years and years of practice at the position. And if said guy is so talented that he actually CAN compete against specialists, imagine how much better still he could have been, if he had all those years to iron the toothing issues at the position. It just drives me mad.


Two things I hate in rugby union beyond description: aping after league, and playing players outside of their natural position. Especially considering, that they all admit they hate it, when they’re allowed to speak freely. Owen Farrell spent 80% of his international career at 12, saying every time when asked, that he is a 10 and prefers to play at 10. Those players are literally held at a gunpoint: play out of position, or no national jersey for you.

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