Sinclair suffers injury in Cup defeat
By Mark Stevens
9/10/22
Scotland will assess the fitness of Eilidh Sinclair in the wake of their narrow 18-15 loss to Wales in the Rugby World Cup in Whangarei.
The Exeter Chiefs player, who had been on less than 20 minutes, was forced off during the second half of their opening fixture with what looked a serious arm injury.
She will now be assessed ahead of Scotland’s next Pool A fixture against Australia, who themselves lost their opening fixture against New Zealand the day previous.
It meant double disappointment for Sinclair, whose side were undone in the 84th minute by a penalty from Wales’ Keira Bevan.
Aided by a stiff breeze, Wales spent the opening minutes camped in Scotland's half and got their just rewards when flanker Alisha Butchers crashed over from close range.
Centre Megan Webb showed what a silky runner she is in her first start in two years, as Scotland looked nervy, understandably so, given that all of their squad were making World Cup debuts.
The outstanding Elinor Snowsill kicked a penalty to extend the lead before Scotland eventually found their feet with hooker Lana Skeldon crossing, just like she did against Wales in Cardiff in the Six Nations.
Wales responded as a Georgia Evans' turnover sparked another attacking move which saw full-back Kayleigh Powell score.
Ioan Cunningham's side took a deserved 10-point lead in at half-time, but Scotland came out firing after the break as Wales' discipline came under the microscope.
Wales rode their luck before prop Cara Hope was eventually shown a yellow card, which led to Megan Gaffney's first try on the overlap.
As the half continued, Wales struggled to hold onto the ball which made for a nervy final 10 minutes and Jasmine Joyce was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on.
This allowed wing Gaffney enough space to score in the 78th minute to level the scores but Nelson missed the conversion.
The game looked to be heading for a draw until Scotland conceded a penalty 30 metres out following relentless Wales' phase attack. In the absence of Snowsill who had left the field, replacement scrum-half Bevan stepped up to slot over the penalty to break Scotland hearts.