Liam Williams is in contention to face France in Cardiff on Saturday despite being substituted at the end of his period in the sin-bin during Wales’s victory against Italy on Sunday.
The Saracens and Lions’ full-back was shown a yellow card for a tackle in which his shoulder hit the neck and face of his opposite number, Matteo Minozzi, at the end of the first half. It wasted a prime attacking position for the home side, who at that stage were leading 17-7 having spent most of the game defending.
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Warren Gatland, the Wales head coach, said immediately after the match that he had been disappointed by the challenge, which he felt did not need to be so high, and revealed he did not send him back on to the field because he feared an “emotional” player was in danger of receiving another yellow card which would have led to his permanent exclusion.
After reflecting on the incident, Gatland said: “It is not a major issue. It is about getting a balance and Liam controlling that emotion. Things were not going as well as he would have liked, he made a couple of errors and you could see him getting frustrated.
“He gave away a penalty at the breakdown that he did not need to and while I understood what he was trying to do in the tackle and hit Minozzi as hard as he could, there was a bit of frustration and he caught him high. It could have been a red card.
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“I have sat him down before and it is just how we manage him and the players. I don’t want him to lose that emotion. That is what makes him so good: he is physical, has a great work-rate and great energy. You don’t want to take those away from him, but when things aren’t going his way he needs to keep calm.”
The coach made 10 changes for the visit of Italy and will overhaul his side again as Wales look to finish as runners-up to Ireland. Alun Wyn Jones is set to return as captain as part of a raft of changes at forward to accommodate more physical opponents than Italy. “I hope France have been partying after beating England,” Gatland said.