Wales duo Sam costelow and Taine Plumtree both had to leave the field injured and it doesn’t look good
Sam Costelow on crutches after the game(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)
Wales coach Steve Tandy has confirmed Scarlets duo Sam Costelow and Taine Plumtree will undergo scans on Monday, with both major doubts for the rest of the Six Nations.
Plumtree was forced off with a shoulder problem after just nine minutes of the gut-wrenching 26-23 defeat to Scotland in Cardiff, while Costelow lasted 54 minutes before injury struck. It was particularly cruel for the latter, given the fly-half was putting in perhaps his finest performance for his country following his Test recall earlier in the week.
The 25-year-old had not started for Wales since the first Test defeat to Japan in Kitakyushu last summer, but was trusted to win his 20th cap after not featuring in the opening two rounds of the Six Nations.
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And he delivered a superb performance, with his attacking and kicking game pushing Wales to an unlikely 23-12 lead before he was forced off with a lower leg injury – with team doctor Geoff Davies and coach Dan Lydiate aiding him off the field.
Afterwards, Tandy offered an update on the pair.
“They don’t look great at the minute,” said the Wales head coach. “Sam’s not weight-bearing.
“Taine is AC. We’ll have scans on those two boys, but it doesn’t look great at this time.”
He offered further updates in his TV interview, bemoaning Costelow’s cruel luck.
“He will have a scan on Monday and he doesn’t look good at the moment,” he said.
“He was fantastic with the way he drove the team forward in that first half.
“He’s been through a lot in his Wales career with not being involved in the autumn but we backed him to come back in and he really took that opportunity.
“It’s such a shame for him that it ended with injury.”
Jarrod Evans replaced Costelow on Saturday, with Ospreys fly-half Dan Edwards having started the first two games.
As for Plumtree, James Botham had come on for him – with the Cardiff back-row making his first appearance of the tournament.
It’s currently unclear whether Wales will call in replacements for either, should they be ruled out of the final two games against Ireland and Italy.