Pain game may pay off
Gareth Anscombe hopes injury hell will prolong his career like it has Dan Carter’s
DAN CARTER’S return to top-flight rugby in New Zealand might not be as brief as some people think, according to Wales outside half Gareth Anscombe.
The 38-year-old world points record holder and World Cup winner has been wooed back home by the Blues to play in the tenweek long Super Rugby Aotearoa competition and Anscombe can’t wait to see him in action.
But the Wales No.10, who came through the ranks in
New Zealand to turn into a rival to Carter, and was in the Chiefs side that beat his Crusaders team in the semi-finals of the 2013 Super Rugby tournament, believes this summer won’t be the only chance to watch one of the world’s greatest stars playing the game.
“There was lots of talk about Dan retiring after the Japan season was over, but he has always been an ultimate professional and has clearly looked after his body well along the way,” said Anscombe, right.
“He’s had some big injuries in the past, which has probably bought him a bit of time off the field, so why not carry on? Professional rugby is evolving and adapting.
“The rules are being slightly tweaked. Although the athletes are getting bigger and stronger, these are people who have only ever known professional rugby.
“They are coming out of school systems which are very professional and then into academies. From a young age now, players are doing weights and they’ve got personal trainers.
“They learn quickly how to up-skill themselves, how to eat well, rest and recover. So, I think we might see guys who were retiring at 32, now conditioned well enough to go to 37, 38, maybe even 40. “One or two of these freaks have already got up to 40 – guys likes Brad Thorne and Taufaʻao Filise. “The medicinal support and science is there and wouldn’t it be great to see Dan still playing at 40. His greatest challenge might be the mental one – it can be challenging to keep going back to the well.” Anscombe, 29, was glued to the TV at the weekend as rugby returned to New Zealand with his former team, the Chiefs, playing the Highlanders. But it added to his current frustration at not playing.
The 2019 World Cup was his target, but a major knee injury picked up in the warm-up match at Twickenham last August put his Test career on hold at 27 caps. Two operations later he is still making his way back to full fitness.
“We’re not too sure when I’ll be back yet,” he said. “Like Dan Carter, I’ve had some big injuries and hopefully I’ve bought myself a bit of extra time on the other side of those.”