The Ospreys say Gareth Anscombe isn’t being released back to them for the United Rugby Championship game with Connacht on Saturday.
Instead, the fly-half will stay in camp with Wales. The call means Anscombe will not have played for five weeks by the time Wayne Pivac’s team face New Zealand in Cardiff on November 5, perhaps sparking concern that the 31-year-old will be undercooked for the game with the current Rugby Championship title holders.
The 32-cap player suffered a rib injury playing for the Ospreys against Glasgow Warriors on October 1, the victim of a charge at a ruck from the opposition’s replacement hooker George Turner.
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Ospreys head coach Toby Booth later described the incident as a "cheap shot".
Speaking at the region’s press call ahead of their date with Connacht, Booth said: “No players have been released to us. I hoped it would be [the case that they were], but didn’t expect it. It is what it is, I’m afraid.
“I’m sure players have asked the questions if they felt that they wanted game time. That’s down to Wayne. We can only control what we have here and that’s what we need to continue to do.”
Anscombe had taken a step forward with the Ospreys before he went into camp with Wales. “He’d just started training,” said Booth.
Wales will now have a call to make on Anscombe.
Head coach Pivac indicated this week he was happy for players to prepare by training in-house with the national side rather than have games for their clubs or regions, with the challenge being for him and his players to simulate a match-level intensity in their sessions.
It also means Alex Cuthbert will head towards the All Blacks match seriously short of game-time. He injured a shoulder on Wales’ tour of South Africa in the summer and has not been seen on the field since.
The Ospreys’ challenge now is to prepare for the game with Connacht with a squad depleted not just by Wales calls but also by injuries, with a six-day turnaround after the clash with the Dragons last Sunday.
“If you bring your boots, I can probably give you a game,” joked Booth at the start of his press conference.
“We’ve had no dialogue as such [with Wales]. It’s always very difficult with a turnaround on a Sunday straight into a camp week and relying on those things.
“We’ve spent most of our time getting what we can control right with the team that we’ve got. We’ll get them ready the best we can and give the boys the best chance for Connacht on Saturday.”
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