Anscombe back as Ospreys lose to Northampton
GARETH Anscombe ended more than two years of injury misery and told of his relief after finally making his Ospreys debut in their pre-season defeat by Northampton Saints.
The Wales fly-half – hero of their 2019 Six Nations Grand Slam – hadn’t played since August of that year. He suffered a serious knee problem in a World
Cup warm-up with England.
But he is now back fit and came through a scheduled 35 minutes at Franklin’s Gardens.
Anscombe, 30, said: “It’s hard to describe. It’s been a long process and certainly very challenging at times, but to get a chance to wear the white jersey and run out with the boys means a lot.
“It’s been a long time coming and a lot longer than I would have liked, but to finally put on the boots and play 35 minutes is really pleasing and the knee has come out really well.
“Hopefully now it’s just the start of my journey with Ospreys and overall, I’m pretty pleased to have got back out there.”
Anscombe was substituted before half time against Northampton as he eases his way back into action after such a long time out.
His return is a huge boost not only for the Ospreys but also Wales head coach Wayne Pivac.
“It’s been tricky with so many ups and downs. It lasted a lot longer than I would have thought initially but I’ve got to thank a ton of people,” Anscombe said.
“There have been so many people behind the scenes that have worked long hours with myself and put up with me being pretty negative and down at times.
“Those people, along with my family, have been amazing in supporting me. They’ve given me a boost because at times it was quite hard to see the light. I’m really thankful I’ve had
such a strong network around me. The people at the Ospreys have been amazing and supported my journey.
“I’ve had help from the Welsh Rugby Union at times which has been nice. We’re finally here and I never expected it to take this long. I don’t think anyone did.
“It’s been a long, hard road and now I can look forward to playing some rugby throughout the year and hoping I can lead this Ospreys team around.”
Ospreys tries came from Mat Protheroe, Luke Morgan, Owen Watkin and Reuben Morgan-Williams.
Northampton’s Tom Collins grabbed a brace while Tom Litchfield, Alex Mitchell and Lewis Ludlam also went over.
Saints attack coach Sam Vesty said: “It was a decent hit-out for pre-season. We did some good things and there were plenty of things to be positive about.
“We're happy with scoring those tries but we’ve got to stop them scoring. They picked up a couple of cheap tries.”