Gareth Anscombe gets some stick from Dan Biggar despite heroics against Wallabies

Gareth Anscombe admitted there is an element of relief after Wales avoided a battle to the finish in their bid to secure a Rugby World Cup quarter-final berth.

After clinching a record-breaking 40-6 triumph over the Wallabies in Lyon on Sunday, Wales advanced to the last eight with one round of matches of the tournament’s pool phase left to play.

In excellent form

Warren Gatland‘s troops have a 100 per cent record despite having one game remaining – against Georgia in Nantes on October 7 – leaving other sides, led by Fiji, to fret over reaching the quarter-finals.

If Wales had suffered a defeat from their three previous fixtures – against Fiji, Portugal and Australia – it would have been a different matter and meant they would be involved in a nervous scramble for two available places.

“It is probably relief. I don’t like that saying that, but we knew there was a lot on it,” Wales fly-half Anscombe said.

“We knew if we didn’t win we would go into the last week not quite having control. It is really rewarding because we do so much hard work.

“We’ve got a tricky little number in Georgia to finish off, and we definitely won’t overlook them, but it is nice to be in control of the group.”

Anscombe was a 12th minute replacement for Dan Biggar against Australia and he took control of proceedings as he slotted six penalties, a drop goal and a conversion.

His 23-point contribution equalled Biggar’s record for most points by a Wales player in a World Cup encounter , although Anscombe would have set a new mark had he not missed a straightforward conversion after skipper Jac Morgan’s late try.

“‘Biggsy’ reminded me that apparently the last kick was to beat his record, so I am hacked off I have only tied that,” Anscombe added.

“Dan is a great man and we get along so well, but he has given me a bit of stick about that!”

Biggar is set to miss the clash with Georgia due to a strained pectoral muscle, but there are no suggestions at this stage that he could be doubtful for a potential World Cup quarter-final with Argentina in Marseille a week later.

“We know how important Dan is for the group, particularly on and off the field with the energy he brings,” Anscombe said.

“It was just really important when I went on that I brought some control and steadied the ship like he does so well.

“We always talk about nailing our roles, and all I was thinking about was making sure I was accurate and bringing some control.

Full of praise for Wales’ forwards

“What was great was that we kept the scoreboard ticking. We have to give a lot of credit to our forwards. We squeezed them at set-piece time, took the points on offer and kept the scoreboard ticking off the back of that.

“I felt like I was building quite nicely in the summer (training) camps, and then I broke my hand. I thought at one point it was my World Cup done.

“I owe a lot of thanks to the team behind the scenes here. The medical team did a fantastic job to get me back on the field, and the coaching staff backed me without much game-time.

“There is still so much to work on from a personal perspective, but it was so nice to spend some time in the big arena.”

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