Dan Biggar ruled out after accidental clash with Liam Williams against Fiji
Wednesday 9 October 2019 15:34, UK
Warren Gatland says Wales will "weigh up their options" when it comes to their fly-half cover for their final Pool D clash on Sunday.
Wales, who have already secured a place in the quarter-finals, will be without Dan Biggar when they play Uruguay on Sunday after he was ruled out due to an accidental clash with Liam Williams against Fiji.
"He [Dan Biggar] didn't do an HIA (Head Injury Assessment)," said Gatland. "It was just because of the contact he was removed from the field.
"It means that he's not in consideration for Sunday and he'll have to go through the protocols. We'll probably get someone to have a look at him as well."
Rhys Patchell replaced Biggar at Oita Stadium on Wednesday and should start against Uruguay.
It leaves Gatland with a decision to make over who acts as bench-cover for the fly-half position.
"It's whether we go for some players backing up, particularly a couple of the backs," the head coach said.
"We may go for a 6-2 [six forwards, two backs] split. We've got some pretty quality nines, we may look at that. Obviously Hadleigh Parkes was talked about and Liam Williams.
"We've been running Hallam Amos a lot of 10 in training and he's looked pretty sharp there too. We'll just weigh those options up as to who we think can do a good job for us."
Fiji's physicality at Oita Stadium impacted upon their opponents, with Gatland admitting there were "some sore bodies" in the Wales dressing room.
"Look there's a couple of dead legs with Josh Adams and Jonathan Davies has a bit of a whack on his knee," Gatland said, but added that the prognosis for both is positive.
"Obviously with Dan Biggar it was a removal from the field. Apart from that, guys are just a bit sore and battered really after a tough and physical game."
Fiji surged 10-0 ahead and held a 17-14 lead in the second half before Patchell's boot and tries from Adams and Williams secured the game for Wales.
"We knew that Fiji were going to be tough. They've got some absolute world-class athletes," added Gatland. "For us it was disappointing to concede a penalty right from that start of the game, which they scored off."
Gatland urged his side not to get complacent after reaching the quarter-finals.
"We're absolutely delighted," he said. "Everyone's goal is to try and get out of your pool and if you do that then it's about taking one game at a time.
"But I do just want to stress that we can't start thinking about quarter-finals. I know that we are in the quarter-finals but we've got a job to do on Sunday.
"For the players on Sunday, it's to stick their hands up and stake a claim for a quarter-final berth or perhaps potentially for later on in this tournament."
