The 33-year-old outside half will make his first appearance for Wales since Rugby World Cup 2023 when he starts on Sunday at Principality Stadium, in tandem with his Gloucester half-back partner Tomos Williams, and is aiming his sights high.
“Without question there is a lot of talent here. I’ve found at this level that when you can get a bit of momentum and a sense of belief, it is amazing how far you can go,” said the 37 times capped Anscombe.
“It is tough when you have some close losses – it sort of eats away at you – but I think if we can get some more things right over these next few weeks then we are certainly capable of picking up a few wins.
“We’ve spoken about it as a group, about not being satisfied with just putting in a decent performance that gets us close. It’s about time we put our hands up and say we need to win a couple of Tests – this group is starting to understand that.”
Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe in training at the World Cup in 2023
Anscombe has shown great resilience and mental toughness to battle his way back to the international arena after a groin issue in the build-up to the game against Georgia in France threw his career into the melting pot.
It ended his hopes of playing for Japanese club Suntory Sungoliath and he only resumed his playing career at Gloucester at the start of this season. His form in the Premiership to date gave Warren Gatland every excuse to pick him once again for the Autumn Nations Series.
“I’ve always had to work pretty hard to get myself physically where I need to be. I’m hopeful that playing week on week, and staying injury-free, I can build back-up my robustness,” added Anscombe.
“If you want to keep playing the game you have to find a way to get yourself back. I’ve learned that I have to be really smart and diligent in my week.
“You can’t just train for the sake of it, you have got to make sure you get some real quality over quantity. I’ve probably learned that in the last six months.
“Getting back into the Wales squad was a big driver for me. While I’m still playing rugby, I feel I can add something at this level.
“I’m still very competitive, and no doubt that competitive nature has driven me to get back. When I’m playing my best rugby, I still feel I can really play well at this level and help lead this side around, particularly when you look around and realise the amount of changes there have been in the last 18 months.”
