No end in sight for Anscombe's 14-month lay-off
Wales head coach Wayne Pivac says he is very confident that Gareth Anscombe will return to top-flight rugby following a prolonged injury battle. Anscombe has not played since suffering knee ligament damage during Wales’ World Cup warm-up game against England at Twickenham 14 months ago.
Pivac has revealed that the 29-year-old faces a further lengthy spell on the sidelines as he continues fighting back to fitness. But the Wales boss is also positive about fly-half Anscombe, who played a starring role in Wales’ 2019 Six Nations Grand Slam success, and his long-term prospects.
“He’s had a little tidy-up since the original surgery, which has just set him back a little bit,” Pivac said. “But he is working really, really hard, and we are not going to rush him back. It’s not worth rushing him back for the sake of maybe a tour or part of a season.
“At this stage, we are not putting any pressure on the player. We are saying, ‘Let’s give it the season to get it right’. Now, if he came right within that time-frame then that’s all the better, but there is no expectation on him to rush back for this season.
“I’m very confident he will get back. He has got leaders within our game and industry looking after him, and they are saying he’s got every chance of getting back to where he was. He is determined to get back on the playing field as soon as he can.”
Such bad luck pic.twitter.com/49nbsBzyyA
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 6, 2020
Anscombe has missed Wales’ last 15 Tests, and he is also unavailable for six more this autumn and then potentially the whole 2021 Six Nations Championship. Wales’ 2021 Six Nations opener is against Ireland on February 7, with no immediate sign of crowds returning due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The remaining fixtures in the delayed 2020 tournament are to be played later this month and followed by the Autumn Nations Cup with all games set to take place behind closed doors. Pivac added: “Who knows when the next Six Nations will be played? There is talk that it may be pushed out slightly, with the current climate around what this virus might be doing.
“So, there are going to be discussions that are ongoing and that’s the smart thing to be doing. Obviously, we are in a position now with no crowds – or very little crowds – and most unions will be in the same boat. They will be desperate not only for the tournament to go ahead, but also to make sure that there are crowds in the future so that we can meet our financial obligations to the game.
“We have taken quite a pounding over the previous few months, and it hasn’t helped anyone with having no crowds. Obviously, everyone would like to see it back to where it was pre-Covid with full crowds and the atmosphere and the spin-off it has for Cardiff and other cities and the country as a whole.
“We all want the same thing, and we have to make sure we make smart decisions based on the health and well-being of the community and the financial situation, and make the best possible decision for everybody.”
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— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 6, 2020
Comments on RugbyPass
The side is good but lacks experience. International playing bona fides udually trumps super rugby form for good reason. And incumbents are usually stuck with. Codie Taylor should start or come off the bench. B Barrett will start at fullback. Blackadder has not earned the position, Finau has. TJs experience and competitiveness earns him a starting role, Christie or Ratima off the bench
4 Go to commentsPretty good side. Scott Barrett should be the captain. Ethan Blackadder a great choice at blindside. He is going to go from strength to strength having made a couple of starts for the Crusaders. Scott Robertson rates him highly. Perenara could start a no 9.
4 Go to commentsI question and with respect. Was enough done over the last few years to bring through new blood knowing the Whitelocks and co couldn’t last forever. There should have been more done to future proof the team. New squad new coach, he and they weren’t set up well. IMO
6 Go to commentsJacobsen will definitely be in the 23
4 Go to commentsLots of discussion points, Ben, but two glaring follies IMO: 1. Blackadder at 6. Has done nothing so far this season to justify his selection. Did you see him going backwards in contact at the weekend? Simply has not got the physical presence at 6: we need a Scott Barrett or a Finau (or wildcard Ah Kuoi), beasts who are big enough to play lock, like Frizzell. If Barret played at 6, Paddy could be joined at lock by Vai’i or one of the young giants we need to promote, like Darry or Lord (if he ever gets on the field). Blackadder best left to join the queue for 7. 2. Not even a mention for Christie? Ratima gets caught at crucial times at the back of the ruck when he hesitates on the pass. The only way he starts would be if Christie and TJ are injured.
4 Go to commentsWhat a dagg in more ways than one
6 Go to commentsRegroup come back next year but sack some of the coaching team and don't be like the ABs last minute sacking. If Crusaders don't do well ABs don't do well.
5 Go to commentsProctor Definitely inform again this year had a hell of a season last year and this year is looking even better. Still mixed feelings about Ioane tho.
4 Go to commentsDagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
6 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
5 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to comments