Gareth Anscombe will fly out to join the Wales squad in South Africa this evening having been given permission to stay at home for a couple of extra days for family reasons. The fly-half’s wife Milica is expecting their second child imminently, so he has been allowed to travel out a couple of days later than the rest of the squad, who departed from Heathrow on Thursday, heading for Johannesburg.
He has no injury issue and there is no change to the 34-man party selected by Wayne Pivac for the three-Test series against the Springboks. The 31-cap Anscombe will provide an option at both fly-half and full-back with his versatility.
He will contest the No 10 position with tour captain Dan Biggar and Rhys Patchell, while providing cover for Liam Williams - the one specialist No 15 in the squad - at full-back. The first Test against the world champion Springboks will be staged at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria next Saturday.
Anscombe, 31, returned to rugby in the autumn after more than two years out with serious knee damage, making his Wales comeback by starting against New Zealand in October. His wife Milica gave birth to their first child, daughter Teifi Mia Anscombe, in September 2020. Now expecting their second, she posted on Instagram that she was 32 weeks pregnant some seven weeks ago.
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