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The considerable career of Stephen Myler has another bit to run yet after the soon-to-be 36-year-old out-half recently released by London Irish was snapped up by the Ospreys on a one-year deal to provide cover for a region still waiting for Gareth Anscombe to regain his fitness.
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Anscombe still has to play a match for the Swansea-based club, his injury in a World Cup warm-up match with Wales away to England last August keeping him sidelined long-term since his high-profile switch from Cardiff Blues.
His absence was a contributory factor in the Ospreys’ dire season which resulted in the sacking of Allen Clarke and the recent arrival of Toby Booth, the former London Irish boss who had been active at Bath and Harlequins in recent times.
To bolster the squad ahead of next month’s restart of the suspended Guinness PRO14 campaign, Booth has now turned to Myler, the long-serving dual-code player who was man of the match in both finals when Northampton completed a historic Premiership and European Challenge Cup double in 2014.
He left Saints in 2018 due to the arrival of Dan Biggar from the Ospreys, going on to help London Irish gain Championship promotion and enjoy a reasonably successful return to the Gallagher Premiership in the 2019/20 season which will also resume next month.
Welcome to the @ospreys @StephenMyler ! Great to see us bringing in this level of experience to cover such a pivotal position. Looking forward to seeing you in the black jersey! https://t.co/UK5xH1klQI
— Ospreys Supporters (@OspreysSC) July 17, 2020
Speaking to the Ospreys website about his move to Wales not long after his Irish departure, Myler said: “As soon as I spoke to Toby, someone I know from the Premiership and who is highly respected and regarded, the chance to be involved with the Ospreys was too good a chance to miss.
“I was fortunate to play for so long at Northampton, a place that loves rugby and wants to see its team doing well. The Ospreys have the same kind of feeling and tradition around them.
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“I’ve always had the feeling of a very proud club which is passionate about rugby, wants to do well and achieve things and I want to be part of that.”
Ospreys boss Booth added: “We have identified positions where we need some strength-in-depth and real quality and experience to bolster the squad. We felt Stephen would add some real value on the field but also do the same off the field and in the squad environment.”
"That was one thing I had to learn to deal with, now you're on a properly big stage compared to Northampton… it's the whole country involved, a massive media profile"
– @GeorgeFurbank tells @jimhamilton4 about his ??????? breakthrough @SaintsRugbyhttps://t.co/zeBdbQZjZP
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) July 17, 2020
