Gareth Anscombe missed the birth of his second child by a matter of hours as he revealed his wife gave birth to their baby son, Theo, while he was in the air flying out to link up with the Wales squad in South Africa.
Anscombe delayed his flight to South Africa having been given permission to stay at home for a couple of extra days for family reasons. The fly-half’s wife Milica was expecting their second child, so he was allowed to travel out a couple of days later than the rest of the squad, who departed from Heathrow on Thursday, heading for Johannesburg. Anscombe eventually left on Saturday evening.
And, lo-and-behold, he narrowly missed the arrival of his newborn, who was welcomed into the world on Sunday, the day Anscombe touched down in South Africa.
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Announcing the news on social media, Milica said: "Your timing could’ve been better little one but just like your dad, you walk to the beat of your own drum. Welcome to the world our gorgeous boy Theo Mika Anscombe."
On Instagram, Anscombe revealed the baby was born while he was en route to South Africa. He wrote: "A whirlwind 24 hours, I landed in SA to news of my baby son just being born, ironic I tried to stay behind to be there only to just miss it. Milica Anscombe is a machine!"
Theo joins the Anscombe family along with his big sister, Teifi, who was born on September 18, 2020.
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.
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