Dai Flanagan has not ruled fly half Will Reed out of contention for the BKT United Rugby Championship clash with Emirates Lions – but Cai Evans will sit out the Johannesburg showdown.
Both kicking options were first half casualties of the defeat to Hollywoodbets Sharks in Durban last weekend.
The Men of Gwent are not training in Cape Town this week before travelling to Johannesburg and the Emirates Airline Park for Saturday’s Round 7 encounter (kick-off 3.05pm UK time).
And Flanagan has reported mixed news on the injury front ahead of the game as he wants to finalise team selection.
“Will (Reed) is not too bad,” admitted Flanagan. “He was immediately good after the game, and he’s passed everything since, so we're struggling to see how he failed what he failed.
“He's arguably the brightest out of the whole travelling party because he only played 20 minutes of rugby.
“Cai is struggling. He’s taken a knock that has knocked him a bit.
“You must respect the specialists and we have made sure we've got independent people to speak to Will. It’s within the seven day and, like I said, he is the freshest out of the group.
“Most years you only use three tens in a season, so to be away at the Sharks for 60 minutes without three of them available is a bit like taking the quarterback out of the team,” he added.
“We know what we signed up to this year. We can't use it as an excuse.
“We’ve got Jordan (Williams) back this week and he can play ten – he played ten for me at Llanelli.
“Steff (Hughes) can play ten very well. If Jordan (Williams) is on the field, at least you've got a kicking option. What was tough last weekend is we lost Will and then Cai immediately after.”
You must respect the specialists and we have made sure we've got independent people to speak to Will. It’s within the seven day and, like I said, he is the freshest out of the group...
