Rhys Priestland, the Wales Rugby Team and Scarlets fly half has admitted that he fears for his future with the national team following the confirmation of his move to the Aviva Premiership Rugby Football Union club Bath Rugby in the summer.
Wales’s manager Warren Gatland has an unwritten rule, much like his England counterpart Stuart Lancaster, of only selecting players based in the country and playing for the four region sides while picking his squad. But Priestland has said that he cannot think about that anymore and he is happy that he has decided to make the move to England at this point in his career.
The 28 year old said that an opportunity like this does not come around often and he would have looked back with regret had he not taken the chance to move north of the border and to play for one of the biggest sides in England, despite the possible affect it might have on his future with the Wales Rugby Team.
But Priestland is also hopeful that it might not come down to that at all and even if it did, he will have just to learn to live with it. According to the player, it was a decision that he made with a heavy heart, adding that leaving the Scarlets was not easy for him, having spent much of his time with them but the temptation to play abroad and also to improve him proved to be difficult to turn down.
The question remains whether Gatland will now exclude the fly half from all his future selections, now that the Wales Rugby Team is in a Rugby World Cup year where they are tipped to go a long way. But if he does, it will only mean a loss for the team and no one else.