WELSH RUGBY ‘IN A MESS’
GARETH Anscombe says Welsh rugby is “a mess”, players have been let down and the four professional sides will struggle to be competitive next season.
The Wales fly-half claimed people in positions of influence have “not stood up and led in the right way”, leading to a wrong decisions that have brought about the current mire.
All four of the regions are feeling the pinch - with playing budgets going down to £5.2m next season and then £4.5m the year after. It means many players’ salaries are being drastically cut going forward, with anger over changes to future contracts pushing Wales’ stars to the brink of strike action earlier this year.
It’s currently unclear whether Anscombe will be plying his trade in Wales, with the 32-year-old leaving the Ospreys after a four-year spell in Swansea that saw him cruelly battling against a couple of serious injuries.
However, as he prepares to take on the World XV at Twickenhamtoday as part of a star-studded Barbarians side, Anscombe was brutally honest about the state of the game in Wales.
“The state of Welsh rugby is fairly disappointing, everybody can see that,” Anscombe told BBC Sport.
“Players have been let down for months, I don’t think that is a big statement, it’s fairly obvious. We have had people in positions who have not stood up and led in the right way.
“There have been a handful of wrong decisions made in the past and the game is in a mess.”
Although he says he perhaps understand the changes being made from a financial point of view, Anscombe believes it will only have an adverse effect on the game in this country, saying he doesn’t know how the four regions are going to compete next year.
“They have small squads and to try and compete in the URC is going to be seriously difficult,” he added.
“It’s got to be looked at and addressed. Rugby is experiencing a massively challenging period and everybody understands there are financial constraints and things need to change.
“It just feels as if players are the ones who are getting their backs broken in Wales and there are certain things that need to be done to address that.
“Welsh rugby needs to think about what they do long term. We need strong structures in place and [to] be more aligned and I hope those changes happen.
“But we have seen in the past things have not been taken care of properly and we end up back at square one.”
Anscombe’s own future is very much up in the air, having confirmed he’ll leave the Ospreys. Moves to France or Japan have long been hinted at, while a return to Cardiff would make sense on paper.
Anscombe and his family are settled in Wales, but the main stumbling block with a move back to the Arms Park will be finances. Both Jarrod Evans and Rhys Priestland departed as the capital club were unable to afford new deals for them, raising questions over how they would bring in the World Cup squad member.
Saying that he was “not sure” what his future held at the moment, he did suggest a development on that front would be forthcoming in the next two weeks.
“Wales is home for us now,” he added. “We have had an amazing time and had my two children born in Wales, and my wife and I are comfortable living in Cardiff. We have been lucky and made a lot of great friends through the game.
“I have always wanted to test myself in other areas and competitions but it is late in the season and I am coming back from injury, so there are challenges.
“I am open-minded to a lot of things. I still think I have a lot to offer, feel my best rugby is ahead of me and am fiercely determined to prove that.
“I am looking forward to staying injury-free and hope the next steps will unfold in the next couple of weeks.
“Do I stay in Wales? I don’t know. I probably have in the back of my head where I would like to go but have to be open to anything.
“The rugby market is tough currently. What’s been tough in the past is maybe some of the rules we have had in place have been changed lastminute and that hasn’t helped some of our players.”