Warren Gatland hails Gareth Anscombe’s qualities with eye on 2027 World Cup

Warren Gatland has highlighted the “confidence and self-belief” returning fly-half Gareth Anscombe brings into the Wales squad.

Anscombe will make his first Wales appearance since the 2023 World Cup in Sunday’s Autumn Nations Series opener against Fiji.

He 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 last World Cup meant another 13 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.

Setbacks

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.

Asked about Anscombe’s chances of reaching the next World Cup in 2027, Wales head coach Gatland said: “That’s the million-dollar question. He’s 33 now, will he get through to the next World Cup?

“Obviously, having that experience coming back into the side has been really good over the last few weeks.

“We are asking that question ourselves, and we will know on Sunday or over the next few weeks – is he a player who can potentially get through to the next World Cup, hopefully injury-free?

“He does bring a lot of confidence and self-belief into the squad. He does communicate well with the players, which is important from a leadership perspective.

“Hopefully he goes out and gives a good performance, but I have to say that (replacement fly-half) Sam Costelow has been training exceptionally well. I think he’s starting to develop a really good understanding of the game and what is required about game-management as well.

“We feel confident that hopefully Gareth gets through the game, but also we’ve got someone who can come on and hopefully add something to the performance, in particular the way he’s trained. He has looked really really sharp, so we are pleased with those two at the moment.”

Integral

Anscombe is integral to an attempt to turn around Wales’ fortunes, having lost their last nine Tests – a sequence that began against 2023 World Cup quarter-final opponents Argentina.

Wales have not lost 10 games in a row since 2002 and 2003, although their overall record against Fiji shows 12 victories and one draw from 14 meetings.

Gatland added: “Often with those fine margins, if you’ve lost a game in the last minute or won it in the last minute, what comes into the reckoning is not often the performance, it’s the result.

“That’s what people purely look at – the result, and not the performance.

“In international rugby there is a lot of pressure on you. It’s about performance, but also about winning.

“We’ve addressed as a squad how important this campaign is. We are aware of the ramifications and the importance of getting off to a good start in the autumn and building for the next six months.”