Anscombe in warning over mental health of players
Gareth Anscombe knows all about the brutal ups and downs of professional rugby and the impact they can have on the mental health of players.
Just months after he was the Grand Slam hero for Wales, Anscombe is missing the World Cup after suffering a serious injury in the warm-up defeat by England.
The 28-year-old Kiwi believes the sport’s authorities must improve offfield player welfare and admits he continues to struggle with the fact he is missing what would have been his second Rugby World Cup.
“There is more money involved now and I think the sports psychology side of the game definitely needs to improve. There needs to be more support. We need to educate guys how to deal with mental health struggles and the pressure that comes with rugby.
“As players, we know we are very fortunate to do this and we do it because we love the sport, but when you do it every day for 10 years you can lose sight of that, particularly when things are tough. Being a professional at international level, you live and die by victory. You don’t get too much grace when you lose.”
Anscombe played at Cardiff Blues with former Wales winger Tom James, who has been open about his struggles with crippling depression. He was also a teammate at the Chiefs of All Blacks centre Anton LienertBrown, who has also had mental health troubles.
“You don’t know when your teammates are struggling and that’s the hardest thing. They only tend to
tell you when it’s over,” says Anscombe. “Players don’t want to talk about their feelings and I know that because it’s me to a tee. You can feel like you don’t want to burden anyone else with your problems. You just hope you can snap out of it.
“When I was at the Chiefs, Anton was a very young player coming through. He’s said he got very stressed about rugby because of the quest to be perfect all the time. I’ve played with a lot of players who have struggled, but with Anton I just didn’t see it.”
It took time for Welsh fans to accept Anscombe given his upbringing in New Zealand, even though his mother was born in Cardiff.
Alongside 2013 Lions wing Alex Cuthbert, Anscombe has launched Fitap, a search engine comparison site and app advising on tailor-made fitness options and how to seek out mental health support.
“I’ve seen what it’s like to deal with high-pressure situations, particularly in Wales where it’s a bit of a goldfish bowl,” says Anscombe. “You can be praised pretty quickly, but then thrown off the roof the next day. Both Cuthy and I have gone through our highs and lows with the Welsh rugby public. I’ve seen mates like Tom go through pretty tough battles.
“In professional sport, and especially rugby in Wales, there are so many highs and lows. You have to celebrate the highs, but it’s not always like that. I’m going through a low at the moment and it’s bizarre because a few months ago I was on a huge high.”
Anscombe believes criticism he received was partly about his performance but also his background. “At the time you say the criticism doesn’t affect you, but looking back it probably did,” he says. “The people around you notice changes. You can be a bit more negative and the hardest thing when you’re going through tough times is you don’t recognise it’s happening. When you’re in that funk it’s hard to get out.
“It did impact me and you can’t help but read certain comments. Not everyone can do that, which is why players and everyone in the general public need support. I hope I can help other people.”