RHYS’S STAR ON THE RISE ONCE AGAIN
NOBODY could have blamed Rhys Priestland for retreating into the shadows.
He was once the mercurial playmaker who came from nowhere to orchestrate Wales’s remarkable run at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. And not forgetting the Grand Slam that followed months later.
But when he joined Bath in 2015, he was doing so in an attempt to get out of the spotlight.
Injuries and a loss of form saw him attract unacceptable abuse on social media virtually every time he pulled on a rugby jersey.
It reached an ugly crescendo when he came on as a substitute for Dan Biggar in a game against Australia in 2014. He was booed by his own fans before he’d even touched a ball.
Two months later, his move from the Scarlets to Bath was confirmed. It was a huge loss to Welsh rugby.
After the 2015 World Cup, it was announced that Priestland was taking an 18-month break from Test rugby. The decision was reversed but it offered an insight as to where his head was at.
During his six-year stint at Bath, he made nine appearances for Wales, eight of them from the bench.
In 2019, he became ineligible to play for his country as he’d signed a new deal with his club after the introduction of the 60-cap rule. It felt like his Test career was over.
The trouble for Welsh rugby was that he was playing extremely well.
Pivac wanted to pick him earlier this year but was blocked from doing so, despite his impending move to Cardiff Rugby.
But when he eventually arrived in Cardiff, he was eligible again and was selected at the first opportunity this autumn.
Priestland has never voiced his opinions on the way things went ahead of his departure.
But after impressing for Cardiff in pre-season, he was back in the Wales fold for the autumn internationals.
It started with a decnt came against the All Blacks and then he was thrust into the fray from the bench against Australia, the same team he faced on that ugly day when he was booed.
It’s funny how things work out.
Wales found themselves two points behind with two minutes to go.
Then a shrill blast of referee Mike Adamson’s whistle put Priestland back in the spotlight.
The penalty he faced was not the most challenging under normal circumstances, but here the game was on the line, with 70,000 fans expecting.
The ball sailed between the uprights. Wales won. It was a cathartic moment.
All Priestland mustered was an understated fist pump. He almost looked embarrassed as he was mobbed by his team-mates.
This is not a story of redemption or rebirth but once again Priestland was Wales’s hero. He can smile again.
Few deserved to taste that moment more than he.