Gareth Anscombe believes Wales can finish the Six Nations strongly and that they will have nothing to regret when they look back at their 2018 campaign. He is also well aware how close the Welsh came to being title contenders.
Warren Gatland’s side will finish among the also-rans in the Six Nations but they would be on the trail of the grand slam had two moves at Twickenham and the Aviva Stadium worked out differently. Sam Underhill’s tackle prevented Scott Williams from scoring an otherwise certain try to preserve England’s lead in the second round while last weekend Wales were three points behind with time up when they worked space on the right, only for Anscombe’s pass to Hadleigh Parkes to be seized by Jacob Stockdale, who cemented Ireland’s victory.
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“We are disappointed because the side we have is capable of winning this tournament,” says Anscombe, who started at full-back against England and came on as a replacement for the fly-half Dan Biggar in Dublin. “Our destiny is not in our own hands, but if we can finish the campaign strongly with two wins we will be able to look back on the tournament and say it was not too bad.
“It’s a funny old game. The whole tournament can come down to one or two decisions. We have not been too far away and we are moving in the right direction. We have to become more accurate and must not allow teams to get a start on us. That means coming out of the gates firing.”
Wales have played with renewed ambition this season and rather than settle for the losing bonus point against Ireland, they pressed for victory. Had Anscombe’s pass reached Parkes, there was every chance of a try, with Ireland’s narrow defence having been exposed in the previous 79 minutes. “The game was there to be won, but it went the other way, which is not a nice feeling,” says Anscombe. “I tried to have a positive impact coming off the bench. We left ourselves with work to do against both England and Ireland, but we created opportunities and it is a case of finishing off more of them. We showed real character in the games, but against teams of that quality you cannot give yourself too much to do.
“I did not see Stockdale coming up when I was passing to Hadleigh. It is easy for an incident to get paused and people to ask: ‘Why did he do that?’ but it happens so quickly. I probably threw the ball a little further than I was anticipating and Jacob made a good read, but it could have gone either way. If he had missed it, things would have opened up.”
Wales finish with two home matches. Next Sunday’s match with Italy is followed by the visit of France six days later, a fixture that will bring down the curtain on the 2018 Six Nations after the trophy has been presented.
Gatland has talked about making changes for Italy as he pays more attention to next year’s World Cup. The Wales coach has the option of taking a look at George North at outside-centre, where the injured Jonathan Davies has been missed, Elliott Dee is pressing for a start at hooker, as is Justin Tipuric at openside, while Taulupe Faletau is two matches into his comeback from a knee injury at Bath.
“There is competition for places across the board,” says Anscombe. “The boys coming off the bench have added a lot and it is about getting a good group together for the World Cup. We are in a relatively healthy place and if we can just clean up a few things we are going to be in a big position.
“I would love to start at outside‑half but Dan and Rhys Patchell have done well there. I would like to think I could do a good job for the team. There is always a risk and a reward with your decision making as a 10 and it is about applying pressure. We have to stay positive and not go back to old habits. The team’s mentality has really improved and we need to remain positive.”