Gareth Anscombe confirms move abroad after Ospreys exit
Gareth Anscombe of Wales celebrates as Wales beat South Africa 12-13 in 2022.
Fly-half Gareth Anscombe is the latest Wales player who will join a new club after the Rugby World Cup, signing with Japanese side Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath.
The 32-year-old was left without a club after not signing a contract extension at Ospreys at the end of the 2022/23 season.
He will be joined by fellow Wales back Liam Williams in the Japan Rugby League One, with the full-back joining the Kubota Spears.
Lock Cory Hill is also returning to Japan, a move that ruled him out of Rugby World Cup contention.
Looking ahead
Anscombe is currently part of Wales head coach Warren Gatland’s Rugby World Cup squad.
He is bidding to feature in his second tournament after playing twice in 2015 before missing 2019 through injury.
“It is a great honour coming to play for a team like Sungoliath, I can’t wait to get over to Japan and play in front of the fans and experience the Japanese lifestyle and culture,” said Anscombe.
“I look forward to joining the team later in the year and getting stuck in with the boys.”
Suntory have a history of signing overseas talents to fill the fly-half jersey, with Beauden Barrett and Damian McKenzie enjoying brief stints at the club.
Gareth Anscombe’s career
The New Zealand-born playmaker is the son of former Auckland and Ulster coach Mark Anscombe and qualified for Wales through his Cardiff-born mother.
He represented New Zealand at U20s level in 2011 and went on to play Super Rugby for the Blues and Chiefs, winning the competition twice with the latter.
In 2014, he signed for Cardiff and made his Test debut for Wales in August the following year coming off the bench against Ireland.
He left Cardiff to join the Ospreys in 2019, but a horror knee injury kept him sidelined for a large chunk of his time at the side.
He sustained that injury in August 2019 against the All Blacks and had to wait until July 2022 to earn his next cap for Wales, coming off the bench in a historic win over the Springboks in South Africa.
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