Gareth Anscombe has opened up on a "crazy 24" hours which saw him meet his newborn son via FaceTime on a plane in Johannesburg.
The Wales fly-half flew out to South Africa for this summer’s tour a few days late after reaching an agreement with head coach Wayne Pivac that allowed him to hang around back home as late as possible in the hope he would be there to witness the birth of his second child with his wife Milica.
After leaving it as long as possible, Anscombe boarded a flight to South Africa which landed on Sunday morning. As soon as he touched down and turned his phone back on, he was greeted with a video call from his wife and their new son, Theo.
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“I’ve had a pretty crazy 24 hours," Anscombe told WRU TV. “We did everything we could to try and bring on the baby but nothing would work. We tried everything but it didn’t come.
“We made the decision that I was flying out no matter what for Saturday, which meant I got here on Sunday and I could train on Monday.
"I was literally landing in Johannesburg, just got internet back on my phone, and I was getting all these texts from my wife, which was just going crazy, being in labour at the hospital, things going okay. Then I got out of my seat to walk off the plane and she FaceTimes me holding my boy, who had literally just come out.”
He added: “Obviously it’s devastating to miss the birth of your son but the main thing is that they’re happy and healthy.
“I kind of felt part of it because it only just happened. Obviously it’s a little bit unlucky with the timing but also really lucky that when it really kicked off we were wheels down in Joburg, so I got to see the first FaceTime.
“He’s doing really well, mum’s doing really well. I think the house is going to be carnage for the next couple of weeks while we’re away. Two kids under two, so she’s got her work cut out but it gives me something to really look forward to. I can’t wait to meet the little guy in a few weeks and it would be good to get a few Test wins to seal it off. It would be nice to celebrate that with a few beers after a win.”
In an unusual twist, Anscombe’s team-mate and close friend Alex Cuthbert thinks he may have found out about the new arrival before the man himself.
That is because the pair’s partners were in contact and news filtered through to the winger in South Africa just before the fly-half touched down.
Cuthbert said: “It’s quite funny because I probably knew before you because you didn’t have your phone on during the flight and Milica was messaging Sarah, my partner. She was obviously saying, thinking you already knew but you hadn’t landed. It was pretty crazy.”
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