Rugby: England worries over Catt and Balshaw
England suffered a double Six Nations injury scare when Mike Catt and Iain Balshaw both failed to last the distance in Bath's 38-10 Heineken Cup victory over Newport.
Catt went off just before half-time with a knee problem, while Balshaw has a wrist injury, the developments coming just 11 days before England kick off their championship campaign against Wales in Cardiff.
Bath coach Jon Callard said that neither player would be considered for selection if his team had a game this weekend.
Both Catt and Balshaw are members of England's 30-man Six Nations squad, although they would be battling to make the starting line-up anyway when England boss Clive Woodward names his side next Tuesday.
And there was also an injury setback for Wales coach Graham Henry, with scrum-half hopeful Gareth Cooper lasting just 13 minutes before departing with an ankle injury that required a post-match trip to hospital for X-rays.
Cooper, a strong contender to sit on the Wales bench on Saturday week, left the ground on crutches, and Callard revealed that he appeared to be the most seriously injured of the trio.
Despite losing Catt and Cooper before half-time, and finding themselves faced with a flooded pitch courtesy of a 30-minute thunderstorm before kick-off, Bath swept Newport aside.
But they still finished five tries short of the 11 required to clinch a best runners-up spot in next weekend's Heineken Cup quarter-finals, which would have meant a daunting trip to reigning French champions Stade Francais.
French club Pau go through instead, but Bath played some scintillating rugby to defy the elements that on any other occasion would have caused the game to be called off.
The Pool Four clash had already been twice postponed so come what may, both teams were hell bent on making it third time lucky.
Bath scored three tries in each half, but a combination of conditions and a spirited Newport defence meant that they ultimately fell well short of that 11-try target.
"Some of the rugby we played tonight defied belief," said Callard. "The conditions were terrible, but the players did their utmost to overcome them and we have kept our momentum of the last few games going.
"The belief in this squad at the moment is huge, and we would have done ourselves and the tournament a disservice if we hadn't gone out and tried to score the tries we needed.
"There are still the Premiership play-offs to aim for, and maybe our silver lining will come at the end of the season."
Bath became the fourth English club to make an early European exit, following Northampton, Saracens and Wasps.
