Anscombe should have left field earlier, insists Welsh legend
WELSH rugby legend JJ Williams has criticised Warren Gatland for not taking Gareth Anscombe off earlier after his injury against England and implored the New Zealander not to start their World Cup campaign with Dan Biggar at No.10
The Lions wing, who played a stellar role in a golden period for Welsh rugby in the 1970s, told the Telegraph he struggled to see why Anscombe played on for 13 minutes in their 33-19 defeat to England at Twickenham after taking a blow to the knee.
Gatland insisted afterwards playing the extra minutes didn’t have any bearing on Anscombe’s injury, stating the damage had already been done.
But JJ maintained the 28-yearold should have been removed from the action immediately, citing that’s what happened with Tom Curry when the England flanker was injured.
And, with Anscombe now ruled out of the World Cup with anterior cruciate ligament damage, Williams argued starting Biggar at outside-half in Japan would take Welsh rugby ‘back 12 months.’
On seeing Anscombe leave the field after 31 minutes in obvious discomfort, Williams said: “My wife was shouting at the television for him to go off.
“He tried to carry on, but I’d have taken him off there and then. England saw Tom Curry get injured and took him off straight away.
“I think Anscombe knew it was something serious. Losing him was a big blow.”
Looking to who should fill Amscombe’s boots for the World Cup, Williams wants Gatland to be bold and pick Blues youngster Jarrod Evans, despite playing just a minute of Test rugby.
“If we start with Biggar, we will go back to where we were 12 months ago and we don’t want that,” said Williams, who earned 30 caps with Wales and seven with the Lions on their 1974 and ‘77 tours.
“You know what you’re going to get with Biggar. He will take you so far, but you’re not going to win the World Cup with him.
“He can come on for the last half-hour if needs be, but I’d give Jarrod a go. We tried to develop our game with Anscombe, but Jarrod must be the way forward.
“Biggar is a steady player, solid defensively and works hard, but his attacking game is very limited. Jarrod is a talented kid who needs experience, so why not get him in now?”
And having seen Wales lose their 14-match unbeaten run in west London last Sunday and a chance to cement their number-one standing in the World Rugby rankings, Williams insists the coaching team must deploy more expansive tactics.
“I want Wales to be riskier in their game. How many box kicks did we do last weekend? It’s so easy to deal with,” he added.
“Everyone knows it’s coming. We need to pick the pace of the game up. It’s so slow.
“There are two ways of looking at it. Either the players can’t play that way or Gatland doesn’t want to take any risks. I think it’s a bit of both, which is why Gatland is sticking to what he’s good at, percentage rugby.
“We’ll have to score tries against Australia at the World Cup. If we kick the ball to them, they’ll crucify us.”