Scotland suffer triple injury blow
Wing Evans was carried off on a stretcher following a sickening collision with Lee Byrne, and the Glasgow man subsequently underwent successful neck surgery at Cardiff University Hospital.
Full-back Paterson, who was winning his 100th cap, had to leave the fray having suffered bruising to his kidney while wing Lamont suffered a medial ligament injury.
Revealed Robson: “Thom appeared to be tackled from behind with his arms pinned and went into Lee Byrne and had a forced movement to his neck. Fantastic credit to the help we got from the Welsh Rugby Union medical staff, we got him to hospital where his condition was assessed he has damaged one of the vertebrae in his neck.
“He was able to talk to us comfortably last night before he went to theatre and the operation was successful.
“Remarkably we will see Thom up and about in a couple of weeks and then it will be a long period of rest and recuperation, but that it the end of his season.”
Robson also confirmed Edinburgh man Paterson, Scotland’s record point scorer, will be out of the game for up to 10 weeks.
“Chris had a comfortable night,” he continued. “He sustained a giant bruise inside his kidney but the surgeons expect it to recover naturally and he should be out of hospital tomorrow (Monday). Chris should be fine, he is expected to be missing for around eight to 10 weeks.”
Toulon back Lamont, whose international career has been bedevilled by injuries, will also miss the rest of this season’s championship after suffering medial knee ligament damage.
The sport, meanwhile, is rallying around Evans. “Our thoughts are with him,” said Wales centre James Hook. “We wish him all the best and hope he makes a quick recovery. He is a superb player.”
Wales star james Hook expects Shaun Edwards to make a no-holds-barred case for the defence before the clash with title favourites France on Saturday week.
Wales’ own silverware aspirations are still alive following an odds-defying victory over Scotland.
Ten points behind with only three minutes of normal time left, Hook and company somehow created converted tries for wings Leigh Halfpenny and Shane Williams either side of an equalising Stephen Jones penalty.
It was a breathtaking climax, but one that still failed to mask Wales’ defensive deficiencies.
“Our defence let us down in the first-half,” admitted Ospreys centre Hook. “There were a couple of easy tries conceded, and in fairness (Scotland fly-half) Dan Parks controlled the game really well. We were really disappointed with the first-half. Scotland were strong, better than us in contact, and our defence was pretty poor.
“We are all disappointed with our defence. It is something we are going to be working on in the next two weeks, and France are a different kettle of fish again.”
Scorers for Wales: L Byrne, L Halfpenny, S Williams try each; S Jones 2 cons, 4 pens.
Scorers for Scotland: J Barclay, M Evans try each; D Parks 2 pens, 2 drop goals; C Paterson con.
WALES: L Byrne; L Halfpenny, J Hook, J. Roberts, S Williams; S Jones, G Cooper; P James, G Williams, A Jones; J Thomas, AW Jones; A Powell, M Williams, R Jones.
Replacements: R Rees for Cooper (41), G Jenkins for James (49), H Bennett for G Williams (49), B Davies for Powell (49), S Warburton for M Williams (68).
SCOTLAND: C Paterson; T Evans, S Lamont, G Morrison, R Lamont; D Parks, C Cusiter; A Dickinson, R Ford, E Murray; J Hamilton, A Kellock; K Brown, J Barclay, J Beattie.
Replacements: M Evans for Paterson (30), M Blair for T Evans (36), P Godman for R Lamont (73), A MacDonald for Parks (79), A Jacobsen for Dickinson (57), S Lawson for Ford (59), R Gray for Hamilton (78).
Referee: George Clancy (IRFU).
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