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Gareth Anscombe has revealed how he feared his Rugby World Cup hopes might have been destroyed by injury for a second successive tournament.<\/p>\n
The Wales fly-half missed Japan 2019 after suffering an horrific knee injury during a World Cup warm-up game against England that sidelined him for two years.<\/p>\n
Anscombe fought back to put himself on the international stage once more \u2013 then injury struck again during Wales\u2019 World Cup training camp in Turkey earlier this summer.<\/p>\n
An attempted tackle on George North left Anscombe with a thumb problem that resulted in scans and him having to wear a plaster cast for a month, ruling him out of Wales\u2019 three pre-World Cup Tests.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose I had a night there in Turkey where I thought I was done again, and that was devastating,\u201d said Anscombe, who starts Saturday\u2019s Pool C clash against Portugal at Stade de Nice.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou have some dark thoughts then, but thankfully I had some luck on my side for once.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t look great at the start, and the initial prognosis was it was probably going to need surgery, but thankfully the scans came back better than first thought.<\/p>\n
It has been about getting myself right and ready for when an opportunity presented itself<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to be in a cast for a month, which was difficult, but at least I could still run.<\/p>\n
\u201cI missed the warm-up games, but to have the backing of the coaching staff was great. They spoke to me and said I was still in their plans, which was nice to hear.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been about getting myself right and ready for when an opportunity presented itself, and here we are this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anscombe is one of eight survivors from Wales\u2019 2015 World Cup squad to be involved eight years later, and he offers considerable experience through 35 caps.<\/p>\n
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And the New Zealand-born number 10 is relishing a chance to play his part as Wales aim to reach the World Cup knockout phase for a fourth successive tournament.<\/p>\n
He features in a team showing 13 changes from the side that toppled Fiji, and it is Anscombe\u2019s first World Cup appearance since he started at full-back against quarter-final conquerors South Africa eight years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know there are parts of our performance that we need to improve if we want to progress deep into this tournament,\u201d he added. \u201cBut it was a great start (against Fiji).<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has been an element of confidence brewing. The more time we spend together, we always improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look back to the Six Nations, a new coaching group and a fairly volatile situation in Welsh rugby.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just been able to get away from a bit of the noise, which I think has been important for us as a group. Getting away in Switzerland and Turkey, focusing on ourselves.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou always need an element of luck in World Cups, with injuries and decisions. We just hope to slowly go about our work and ride the wave.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had fantastic support on the weekend. I think more people will jump on the plane over and get behind us. I think you see when Welsh fans get behind us, who knows what can happen.\u201d<\/p>\n