Gareth Anscombe's New, Hopeful Journey Begins
The Fly-Half Symbolically Kicked Wales To Their First Win on South African Soil After Three Years Of Pain.
One-thousand eight-hundred and fifty-five days
I've been goin' through somethin' - Kendrick Lamar.
Matches between Wales and South Africa are arm wrestles. You know that. They’re tense affairs that may seem tedious and low-scoring, but are in fact intensely physical and keep you on the edge of your seat. Eight of the past 10 games between them have ended in a gap of six points or less. Tight is an understatement.
That theme continued this past weekend. One point separated them in the end. A single point, derived from the right boot of Gareth Anscombe.
That right foot, and the leg its attached to, has endured more stress and trauma in three years than many people will undergo in a lifetime. It is that leg which has frustrated, scared, and angered Anscombe as he contemplated a life without rugby.
On August 11, 2019, not long after leading Wales to a Six Nations Grand Slam in Warren Gatland’s final campaign, the fly-half felt a pop in his right knee as he attempted to sidestep Elliot Daly in a World Cup warm up against England.
What was meant to be a difficult nine months of recovery turned into an excruciating 25-month wait. His anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) had ruptured, as well as a lateral tear to his meniscus. Surgery was immediate. In order to create a new ACL, a piece of his hamstring was grafted. However, it became clear that a problem with his leg’s bone structure was putting pressure on his ACL graft.
A second operation took place in December 2019. For that surgery, it was his tibia that was cut into. A realignment of his hip, knee, and ankle was required. The worst of all was a morbid wait for a bone plug from America, which involved waiting for someone to pass away in order for Anscombe to receive it. The plug came with three big metal screws inserted tightly into his leg.
A third and final surgery was scheduled for March 2020, delayed until July by the pandemic. The surgery being his final one was not due to optimism of its success, but Anscombe’s realisation that, a third failure on the operating table would mean his playing career was finished. The year was immensely stressful, amplified by Anscombe’s wife, Milica, being pregnant with their first child, and he was no closer to recovery.
Anscombe has been frank about what got him through those years of frustration and pain. The birth of his child; his wife’s loving help; even the help of friends Ellis Jenkins and Cory Allen — who were both also recovering from knee injuries. Ultimately, what got him through the journey was the destination - not just playing for Wales, but succeeding with them.
At one point in that long process, the conversation had turned from if Anscombe would play rugby, to if he could ever even run again. Yet the fact the fly-half won’t see his return as a success until he hits the levels of his 2019 performance, is proof of a mental fortitude possessed by only a few.
Wales’ performance and subsequent nail-biting defeat last weekend certainly reinjected a modicum of optimism in the national side. Amidst that optimism, sadly, was creeping feeling that such a performance couldn’t be replicated.
That despite South Africa making 14 changes, they would inevitably grind out a win and close out the series. Wales’ best chance at a series win on South African soil would slip through their fingers.
Arguably, that is what should have happened. With just over 60 minutes of the game played the Springboks held a nine-point lead - not an insurmountable gap, but one you would expect the Boks to hold on to. One that they probably would have held on to nine times out of 10.
Anscombe, who had freshly arisen from the substitutes’ bench just 15 minutes earlier, stepped up to take a penalty to shorten the lead to six.
The clock ticked down. Wales camped themselves in the South African 22. The Springboks had to withhold a seething red wave of pressure. Whilst Wales bore the weight of a inevitable tour defeat with each carry that the South African defence repelled.
As Josh Navidi spun unexpectedly and passed to Tomos Williams, the picture became clear. It had suddenly opened up. The skin of those both in Bloemfontein and in Wales suddenly became embedded with goosebumps. A beautiful, looping pass from Anscombe to Josh Adams had thousands pre-emptively jump from their seats in jubilation.
The try took Wales to within one point. The conversion would almost guarantee the win. Rugby history was so tantalisingly close.
Yet, in that moment, it felt so far. Not down to doubt in Anscombe’s kicking ability - which remains elite. But for the simple fact that, to lose a game in such a way would be typically cruel. A quintessentially Welsh finale. One that the rugby-gods have viciously imparted on Wales countless times in the past. And for a player who had gone through so much, sacrificed so much - it would be another torturous moment.
One imagines that, in that moment, Anscombe’s head was filled with nothing but visualisations of the ball accurately sailing between the posts. He had no mental space to think of his journey over the past three years. All the operations. The moments of doubt and fear that had led him to this point. The times he had to consider life beyond rugby. There was only calmness.
Hyperbolic may it be, but there was no person better suited to seal a crucially historic win for Wales. For any player, it would be a moment to cherish. For Anscombe, it is much more important. It is symbolic. A reassurance that his sacrifices were worth it.
Instantly, any doubt dissipated the second the ball left his foot. Its trajectory was clear. Neil Jenkins raised his hands in glee. There was no celebration for Anscombe though. He simply put his head down and ran back to his half, knowing that his journey of struggle had ended, and a new, hopeful one began.