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Gareth Anscombe explains dream that drove his latest injury recovery

By PA
Gareth Anscombe celebrates Wales' September 2023 win over Australia in Lyon (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Gareth Anscombe has revealed that the possibility of playing Test rugby again was “a big driver” for him as he fought his way back from a second major injury. The Gloucester fly-half looks likely to be involved when Wales kick off their Autumn Nations Series campaign against Fiji on Sunday.

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Anscombe has seen three years of his career wiped out after a knee injury sidelined him from 2019 to 2021, before a groin problem suffered during the 2023 World Cup meant another 12 months in the international wilderness.

The groin issue, which happened barely an hour before kick-off of Wales’ pool game against Georgia, also ended his hopes of playing for Japanese club Suntory Sungoliath, who cancelled Anscombe’s registration.

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Such setbacks would have finished many players, but Anscombe’s resilience has helped underpin a return to the Wales squad for an autumn schedule that also features appointments with Australia and South Africa.

The 33-year-old’s experience – he made his Test debut nine years ago – will now be key in a Wales squad that contains 17 players with single-figure caps. “It was a big driver for me, getting back (with Wales),” Anscombe said.

Team Form

Last 5 Games

1
Wins
4
1
Streak
1
15
Tries Scored
24
-47
Points Difference
60
1/5
First Try
3/5
2/5
First Points
2/5
1/5
Race To 10 Points
2/5

“While I am still playing rugby, I feel I can add something at this level. I am still very competitive, and no doubt that competitive nature has driven me to get back here. I still feel like when I am playing my best rugby I can really play well at this level and help lead this side around, particularly when you look around and realise the amount of changes there have been in the last 18 months.”

Wales have won one Test match since 37 times-capped Anscombe last featured, and a loss against Fiji would equal an all-time low of 10 successive defeats recorded in 2002 and 2003. “There is a lot of talent here, without question,” Anscombe added. “I have found at this level that when you can get a bit of momentum and a sense of belief, it is amazing how far you can go.

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“It is tough when you have some close losses – it sort of eats away at you – but I think if we can get some more things right over these next few weeks then we are certainly capable of picking up a few wins.

“We have spoken about it as a group about not being satisfied with just putting in a decent performance that gets us close. It is about time we put our hands up and say we need to win a couple of Tests, and this group is starting to understand that.”

If, as expected, Anscombe returns on Sunday, it will be testament to his powers of mental and physical recovery. He still has plenty to offer at the highest level, with his experience being crucial in a squad currently low on caps and mileage on the clock. “The nature of the injuries I have had have been fairly significant,” Anscombe said.

“I have always had to work pretty hard to get myself physically where I need to be. I am hopeful that playing week on week, and staying injury-free, I can build my robustness back up. If you want to keep playing the game you have to find a way to get yourself back.

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“I have learnt that I have to be really smart and diligent in my week. You can’t just train for the sake of it, you have got to make sure you get some real quality over quantity. I’ve probably learnt that in the last six months.”

Anscombe and his family are now based in Cheltenham, and life is good as part of a Gloucester set-up where the emphasis is on attacking, try-scoring rugby. “To play most of the games and get some minutes, I have really enjoyed, and hopefully in the next block of games I can start building a real consistent run of performances,” he said.

“I have really enjoyed it. It has been quite a refreshing move for me and my family, particularly having gone another season without playing rugby. I always wanted to test myself in the Premiership, and the support we get is amazing at Kingsholm. It is a privilege to be part of it.”

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Flankly 2 hours ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

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