// Australia's main Rugby World Cup pool rival, Wales, has suffered a major blow with news that captain Ken Owens has been ruled out of the tournament with a back injury. The 36-year-old hooker captained Wales in the Six Nations and was hoping to play in his fourth World Cup in France in September-October. "He's gutted but he's an incredibly positive person," Wales coach Warren Gatland said. Watch the 2023 Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand "He wanted to reiterate he has not retired from rugby and he is hoping potentially he could be available maybe later if we pick up injuries in the tournament. "It is the same injury (as in 2021) but not as severe as before so he may need an operation on that. He is just getting pain in his calf and can't run fully. He was trying to do a bit of work so we gave him as much time as possible." Gatland hinted he may follow Wallabies coach Eddie Jones' lead and name co-captains to replace Owens, who has played 96 Tests. READ MORE: Star's astonishing feat lifts Aussies to Ashes Test win READ MORE: Ryan Reynolds' multimillion dollar new investment READ MORE: Melbourne pub fight that started Chappell and Botham's 46-year feud The coach used that approach in 2018 when forwards Ellis Jenkins and Cory Hill shared the responsibility. "You look at the squad and I don't think there are any guaranteed starting positions," Gatland said. "Players will get opportunities. Picking the right person as captain, it is the support they are going to get, or is it potentially co-captains that can share that role and responsibility. We will put a leadership group together." NEW PODCAST! Sean Maloney, Morgan Turinui and Stephen Hoiles look at the winners and losers from the Wallabies squad announcement and pay tribute to the Crusaders after a seventh straight Super Rugby title https://omny.fm/shows/between-two-posts-1/wallabies-squad-victorious-crusaders/embed?style=Cover Wales have slipped to ninth in the world rankings and are in a state of turmoil with political in-fighting and a spate of retirements. Legendary lock Alun Wyn Jones and star flanker Justin Tipuric surprisingly retired from Test rugby last month while Hill has made himself unavailable for the World Cup. Ospreys hooker Sam Parry replaced Owens in the squad, while Scarlets backrower Josh Macleod and Cardiff prop Will Davies-King also withdrew with injury. Wales will play Australia in a crucial Pool C clash in Lyon on September 25 (AEST). Fiji, also in Pool C, will be eyeing an opportunity to upset a weakened Wales and potentially progress to the quarter-finals along with the Wallabies. For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here Australia's main Rugby World Cup pool rival, Wales, has suffered a major blow with news that captain Ken Owens has been ruled out of the tournament with a back injury. The 36-year-old hooker captained Wales in the Six Nations and was hoping to play in his fourth World Cup in France in September-October. "He's gutted but he's an incredibly positive person," Wales coach Warren Gatland said. Watch the 2023 Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup on the home of rugby, Stan Sport. All matches streaming ad free, live and on demand "He wanted to reiterate he has not retired from rugby and he is hoping potentially he could be available maybe later if we pick up injuries in the tournament. "It is the same injury (as in 2021) but not as severe as before so he may need an operation on that. He is just getting pain in his calf and can't run fully. He was trying to do a bit of work so we gave him as much time as possible." Gatland hinted he may follow Wallabies coach Eddie Jones' lead and name co-captains to replace Owens, who has played 96 Tests. READ MORE: Star's astonishing feat lifts Aussies to Ashes Test win READ MORE: Ryan Reynolds' multimillion dollar new investment READ MORE: Melbourne pub fight that started Chappell and Botham's 46-year feud The coach used that approach in 2018 when forwards Ellis Jenkins and Cory Hill shared the responsibility. "You look at the squad and I don't think there are any guaranteed starting positions," Gatland said. "Players will get opportunities. Picking the right person as captain, it is the support they are going to get, or is it potentially co-captains that can share that role and responsibility. We will put a leadership group together." NEW PODCAST! Sean Maloney, Morgan Turinui and Stephen Hoiles look at the winners and losers from the Wallabies squad announcement and pay tribute to the Crusaders after a seventh straight Super Rugby title https://omny.fm/shows/between-two-posts-1/wallabies-squad-victorious-crusaders/embed?style=Cover Wales have slipped to ninth in the world rankings and are in a state of turmoil with political in-fighting and a spate of retirements. Legendary lock Alun Wyn Jones and star flanker Justin Tipuric surprisingly retired from Test rugby last month while Hill has made himself unavailable for the World Cup. Ospreys hooker Sam Parry replaced Owens in the squad, while Scarlets backrower Josh Macleod and Cardiff prop Will Davies-King also withdrew with injury. Wales will play Australia in a crucial Pool C clash in Lyon on September 25 (AEST). Fiji, also in Pool C, will be eyeing an opportunity to upset a weakened Wales and potentially progress to the quarter-finals along with the Wallabies. For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here https://ift.tt/nFHWu7p //
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