Wales captain Dan Biggar admits he’s glad to be plying his trade in England with all the in-fighting going on in Welsh rugby and he's predicted the same issues are likely to remain in years to come.
The 32-year-old fly-half, who has been with Northampton since leaving the Ospreys in 2018, told The Times : “The timing of my move worked out perfectly. That makes me sound like a mercenary, but it was the right time to move on. Since I’ve been here, there’s so much going on, so much in-house fighting, (that) it’s nice to be on the outside looking in.
“Experience teaches you in two, three, five, 10 years’ time we’ll be sitting here talking about the same stuff. It’s not ideal in Wales at the moment.
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“I played two European quarter-finals with the Ospreys, we won two league titles. We were coming through in a strong environment. It’s a very different playing field now, with regions who aren’t as successful. It’s a harder job coming into camp to park that. You have to do more to get guys where they need to be internationally.”
Things reached a new low for Wales in the final match of the Six Nations as they suffered a first ever home defeat to Italy on the afternoon Biggar won his 100th cap. While Biggar managed to put the disappointment behind him to mark the achievement with friends and family that night, he admits: “We made too many changes and it felt a little flat. It wasn’t the day I would’ve chosen."
He added: “We’ve got to have a culture where we’re hard on players and coaches. That’s what’s made us successful. I’ve been involved in the national team for a long time and we’ve had some tough defeats, but we’ve generally come back swinging.”
Biggar lines up for Northampton away to Saracens in a crucial Premiership clash this evening, having completed the three week ban he picked following his red card for a high tackle against Gloucester last month. His dismissal led to an exchange of words with a home supporter (you can read about the clash here ) as he left the field at Kingsholm during the Challenge Cup tie.
“A Gloucester fan was sitting behind the subs’ bench giving it to me: ‘You should be writing a formal apology’. I went back at him. He said: ‘You’re a disgrace, you should be ashamed of yourself.’ The steward asked him to leave, which was unnecessary, he just needed to accept that if he’s going to give me a mouthful he’s picked the wrong person.”
