Wales: Wayne Pivac says Will Rowlands and Dan Lydiate won’t return ‘any time soon’

Wales will be without the services of forward duo Will Rowlands and Dan Lydiate for some time after they sustained injuries during the Autumn Nations Series campaign.

That was the word from Wales head coach Wayne Pivac after Rowlands injured his shoulder and Lydiate broke his arm during Wales’ 20-13 triumph against Argentina in Cardiff last weekend.

“They are both seeing specialists,” Pivac said.

Serious injuries

“They are both out of this series, and they will not be back any time soon. They are both reasonably serious injuries.

“Obviously, we would like to think they will both be back at some stage during the Six Nations.”

While Rowlands and Lydiate are concentrating on recovering from their injuries, Scarlets back-row Josh Macleod is preparing for his Test debut when Wales host Georgia in Cardiff on Saturday.

Macleod would have had his first taste of international rugby against Scotland during last year’s Six Nations, but he sustained a ruptured Achilles tendon in Wales’ first training session after he was selected.

Pivac added: “Any injury that takes you out of the first opportunity to play for your country is big, isn’t it?

“For that one (Achilles injury) I was standing about two metres behind him, he just accelerated from a standing start and it was like someone had shot him with a gun.

“You heard the rupture, so it was a nasty one.

“I remember saying to him, though, before he left the hotel that he should go away with the knowledge that this coaching group had selected him on his merits.

“I told him, ‘Work hard now and you will be stronger for it. When you come back, provided you are playing well, you will get another opportunity’.

Worked hard on recovery

“He has gone away and worked very, very hard on his game, and it is a credit to him and the people around him because it is always medical people that do the unseen work and the strength and conditioning boys that help these guys get back.

“It is just a pleasure to see him back on the playing field. He is a lovely young guy and he works very, very hard at his game.

“He is a very physical player, and I think the biggest step going from club to international is the physicality required, so it is going to be very interesting to see how that transfers for him.”

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