The 24-year-old became the fifth of six new caps blooded in the first of three Welsh World Cup warm-up games and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“It’s a hell of a stadium – with 72,000 people in it is pretty cool. The hairs were sticking up on the back of my neck during the anthems,” admitted Anscombe.
“It was a very auspicious moment for me, a proud moment for my family and a fantastic day. The game was a little bit quicker than I’ve played in of late. We were struggling and made a few changes, but in the last 10-15 minutes we held onto the ball and played a bit better.
“From a team perspective, we were a bit frustrated by the amount of ball we turned over and the unforced errors certainly built up. Our conditioning showed though, we have been working pretty hard with our fitness, and that showed.
“But I guess we knew we might be a little bit underdone on our rugby probably showed as well. We haven’t done a hell of a lot of rugby work so far.
“We ran a lot, then ran some more and then did a bit more running after that in the training camps. We knew we might be a bit underdone on the rugby side, but that’s not an excuse for how we played today. We are better than we showed and there is a lot to build on and there were some positives.”
Anscombe headed north to Colwyn Bay with the rest of the training squad on Monday to prepare for a vital week in the journey towards final selection for the World Cup. At the end of this week Warren Gatland has pledged to cut his numbers, and nobody wants to miss out.
“From the moment I came here, playing for Wales was always a goal for me. It’s nice to tick it off, although once you have had a little taste you want more. We all know what the goal is and I’d love to be a part of the World Cup, but you have to play well when you get on the field,” said Anscombe.
“You can never be fully confident, especially in the position I am going for. There are a lot of No 10s and 15s and some very good players here. A lot of good players are going to miss out. The first cull is going to come after the north Wales camp and so you just have to keep training hard and take your chance on the field. Hopefully, I will be there or there abouts when the cut comes.
“I am feeling a lot more comfortable in the Welsh squad now. The Six Nations was more of a training role to allow me to get a taste of it – understanding what the coach wants from me. I am still learning from players like Rhys Priestland and the lads who have been in this environment for years. I still have a lot to learn and to improve on, but it was nice to get a taste of it today.
“I didn’t start as well as I would have liked when I first came over here, but being at No 10 and coming from a different playing environment with a different skill set it took a little time just to get used to the way things are done over here.
“That was with Cardiff Blues and in the Welsh camp. I think I am getting a grasp of it now and hopefully that will lead to a few more opportunities.”
While Anscombe was fully focused on his Wales debut at the weekend, he did notice that New Zealand had lost their grip on the Rugby Championship title by being beaten 27-19 by Australia. That, admits the outside half, is another warning to Wales from the Wallaby camp.
“It was about time something like that happened. The All Blacks usually come out on the right side of the ledger with a late try or something, but the Wallabies have been sniffing for a while,” added Anscombe.
“I don’t think the All Blacks will be too worried. We know the Wallabies are going to be a real force come World Cup time, which doesn’t make our Pool any easier. We know what is expected and the two teams who get out of our Pool will be pretty well placed for the rest of the World Cup.”
