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Gareth Anscombe faces loyalty dilemma as Cardiff face Ospreys this weekend
New Ospreys import Gareth Anscombe has the full support of his current Cardiff head coach that he will maintain his professionalism as the two sides clash this weekend.
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Anscombe will line up for the Blues against Ospreys at Principality Stadium as part of Welsh Rugby’s Judgement Day in the Pro14, knowing that a win over his new side could cost them a spot in next season’s European Champions Cup.
The 27-year-old New Zealand-born pivot recently signed a big-money deal with the Swansea-based club after a five-year stint in the Welsh capital.
This weekend acts as the last round of the Pro14 regular season, and Ospreys currently sit in fourth spot in Conference A with 54 points, making them sixth in the league overall.
The top seven Pro14 sides will qualify for the next edition of the Champions Cup, but with conference rivals Cardiff, Italian club Benetton Treviso, Scottish side Edinburgh and Welsh outfit Scarlets all within four points of Ospreys, the race to fill the seven-team quota is still well and truly alive.
Just one point separates Cardiff and Ospreys, meaning everything will be on the line in their meeting this weekend, but Blues head coach John Mulvihill has the utmost confidence in trusting Anscombe’s integrity come Saturday.
“He is one of our best 23 players and he will be taking part,” Mulvihill told BBC Sport.
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“He is 100 percent professional.
“I think it was a pretty easy decision to make as a head coach, you want your best players playing. We have a few injuries in our backline, so it is pretty simple for me.
“He will finish off, the champion he has been for Cardiff Blues for the last number of seasons, I am sure he will want to finish off well and be remembered as that type of player for us.”
Mulvihill echoed his own sentiments when was queried on the issue again by Wales Online.
“If there’s a 50/50 ball or a goal to be kicked, he’s the man to do it. It may be the Gareth Anscombe show,” he said.
“Gareth will want to leave Cardiff Blues on a high and I have 100 percent confidence in him.”
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Ospreys head coach Allan Clarke also told BBC Sport that he believed Anscombe would provide a strong challenge for his future teammates, and had no concerns regarding the possibility of the 26-test first-five deliberately underperforming.
“He is a quality player and person and has a lot integrity and I have no doubt he will come out and deliver his best,” he said.
“I am absolutely delighted he has decided to come to us.”
As part of the Judgement Day double-header, Scarlets and Dragons will face off earlier in the day in another all-Welsh encounter.
Pro14 race for the Champions Cup:
Conference A:
1 – Glasgow (76pts)
2 – Munster (73pts)
3 – Connacht (61pts)
4 – Ospreys (54pts)*
5 – Cardiff (53pts)*
6 – Cheetahs (41pts)
7 – Zebre (19pts)
Conference B:
1 – Leinster (75pts)
2 – Ulster (59pts)
3 – Treviso (52pts)*
4 – Edinburgh (51pts)*
5 – Scarlets (50pts)*
6 – Kings (22pts)
7 – Dragons (21pts)
(* = still eligible for top seven spot but not yet secured)
Final round fixtures:
Dragons v Scarlets @ Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Cheetahs v Kings @ Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein
Zebre v Treviso @ Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi, Parma
Cardiff v Ospreys @ Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Ulster v Leinster @ Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
Glasgow v Edinburgh @ Scotstoun Stadium, Glasgow
Munster v Connacht @ Thomond Park, Limerick
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
The best outside centre in the world at one point. He will be greatly missed.
2 Go to commentsYip his great for the big moments when needed as a safa really enjoy watching him
4 Go to commentsOne that will start to come up from now on is penalties for back pushes during kick chase scrambles. Very difficult to detect. In Croke Park if you replay the Hendy NH try, you will see Furbank push Porter in the back, who collides with Larmour knocking the ball across into Hendy’s path to dot down. A more significant example was in the RWC QTR final where Arendse pushes Fickou into two other French players for the ball to spill into Arendse’s path for him to gather and run in to score SAs first try. Not cheating if you are not caught and very difficult to spot but with kicking becoming so critical I feel its an area that will referreeed/TMO-ed more.
3 Go to commentsWhat a pathetic little twit Andy Goode is, as if we care what he thinks…..😂
114 Go to commentsFoxy has been a wonderful player for the Scarlets and Wales.
2 Go to commentsNika the Georgian is the best referee in the world at the moment. Luckily we will be spared the shite SH refs and Barnes will hopefully remain retired given how shite and embarrassing he was at the RWC.
3 Go to commentsThis is the most exciting game of the summer imo, as we really won’t know in advance how both teams are going to play. - Will Robertson just reproduce his Crusaders tactics from last year, or will there be a conscious effort to borrow from the Hurricanes and Blues, and from the aspects of the ABs world cup strategy that worked well? - England under Borthwick have put in some good performances playing attacking rugby, and some good performances playing kick-oriented defensive rugby. Will Borthwick try to merge them together into a single all-court game, or will he continue switching between different approaches depending on the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition?
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
1 Go to commentsI’m predicting an aggregate points difference of no more than +/-10pts across both matches this series.
9 Go to commentsFinals are always tense affairs for the players so I do not expect this to be a spectacle of running rugby unfortunately.
3 Go to commentsBulls***': Ex-England international calls out Eben Etzebeth… Not to his face but from very far away… after he’d left. Checked to make sure he wasn’t in the building.
114 Go to commentsHopefully this will mean a new Auckland league team to support in the west. Big Warriors fan but it’s very, very stale on that front and I’d like the option of another team if it was to watch league again. League needs to step up BIG time if its to get anywhere, another AK team and something from the capitol or south is a must for the game.
3 Go to commentsGood, deep interview, nice job Frankie!
1 Go to commentsNRL players don’t have anywhere near the number of Tests. Some people would be happy having Rest Homes full if 40 yo ex-players walking, or hobbling more like it, into walls. It’s just a game!
4 Go to commentsNOW Razor is worried about ABs getting injured or overplayed! Didn’t bother him last year. He happily played his AB Crusaders.
4 Go to commentsWhat is the World Rugby U20 players born year.
2 Go to commentsMuch like the Chiefs finally gave up waiting for Atu Moli to ever not be injured, you have to wonder if the Chiefs and Crusaders will let Josh Lord and Ethan Blackadder go next season. They’re being well paid to sit in the injury ward every year. Better off putting those funds towards someone who might actually play.
7 Go to commentsShowed better basic skills than some nz Super sides, who probably would have botched some of those backline moves. This tournament really is too short though. Needs more teams, or have them play two rounds to properly prepare them for the near full-time NH U20 sides.
4 Go to commentsGood grief it’s only six months. Probably just upset it’s not an established kiwi entering their prime they can “project” into green to join the rest.
3 Go to commentsGood player but far from being best in the world. That's an exaggeration. Perhaps Best in world by Northern Hemisphere standards and biasis but certainly not Southern Hemi standards
4 Go to comments