Less than a year ago, amid a torrid 12 months, Wales achieved a piece of Welsh rugby history. The first victory over the Springboks on South African soil was defined by a couple of stalwarts. Dan Lydiate put in a frankly ridiculous defensive performance, scything down Springboks time after time in arguably his best individual performance since chopping down French bodies on the way to a Grand Slam in 2012. And then, in the closing embers, Gareth Anscombe showed equal measures of skill and nerve to set up Josh Adams' try before slotting the crucial conversion from the touchline to secure a famous victory. Since that piece of history in Bloemfontein, Lydiate and Anscombe have unfortunately sustained injuries that have kept them out for parts of the current campaign. But, you would imagine both will be in the mix when Warren Gatland comes to name his
World Cup training squad later this year. SIGN UP: Get the latest exclusive stories and
BREAKING rugby headlines sent straight to your inbox for free with our daily newsletter and weekly briefing from rugby correspondent Steffan Thomas. The same can almost certainly be said of Rhys Webb, so long in the wilderness but now back perhaps as Wales' starting scrum-half. Yet while all three Ospreys stars are probably quietly confident they will feature in
France later this year, their contract situations for next season certainly would inspire less faith. In fact, we are at a point where all three have felt moved to speak out about matters on social media, something of a rarity when it comes to the era of media-trained players. Starting with Anscombe, the fly-half has long been linked with a move away from Welsh rugby, with France and
Japan often touted as potential destinations. Ahead of his return to action following an injury, there had been reports in The Rugby Paper at the weekend of a deal being offered that would equate to a £100,000 pay cut. The playmaker has since come out on
Twitter to pour cold water on the reports. Whether simply no deal has been offered or it is one with different terms is unclear, although it's understood talks had gone quiet after Anscombe picked up his shoulder injury against Australia in the autumn. Despite being a player Gatland has spoken of highly in the past, and a fly-half trusted as a starter in 2019 and may well do again this year, it's hard to see Anscombe sticking around in Welsh rugby beyond the end of the season. That doesn't hurt his Welsh chances, given he is not captured by the newly-reduced 25-cap rule, but equally it's not ideal in the build-up to a tournament for a player's future to be taking so long to sort. The same goes for Webb. The scrum-half isn't exactly thrilled with the offer he has had from the Ospreys, a one-year extension which would see him earn half of what he's on right now. There are offers from Japan that he is considering, although it's understood he would rather stay in Wales. Whether he does remains to be seen, but it's clear how much frustration the situation is causing. Hours after putting in a man-of-the-match performance against
Italy during the Six Nations, Webb posted "#anyjobs" on social media. Which brings us to perhaps the most unfortunate of the trio. Unlike Anscombe and Webb, it's fairly concrete in the sense that there is no deal currently on the table for Lydiate. The 34-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season. Obviously, injuries haven't been that kind to the back-rower in recent years. But this is a player who overcame a broken neck while still a teenager. He is insistent that he is in better shape than ever before as he goes "hell for leather" to try and land a new deal. A try-scoring performance against the Dragons at the weekend showed that, he was excellent in
South Africa last summer, yet as things stand he has only three more games to make an impression. The idea of Lydiate not getting a contract for next season, even with his age and injury concerns, is a tough one to get your head around. He can still do a
Job on the international stage, after all. So, even for as consummate a professional as Lydiate, the decision to use
Social Media to vent his concerns about the current situation isn't exactly surprising. After the victory over the Dragons, Lydiate tweeted, albeit with his tongue firmly in cheek, that "if anyone is looking for a young up-and-coming six for next season with plenty life in him", they should give him a call. Another tweet reiterated that the "old bull" still had rugby left in him, with the hashtag "#stillchasingacontract" included at the end. Hopefully he will get that contract sorted. After all, the Llaithddu herd of Welsh Black cattle will keep for a little while longer without his full-on supervision at the family farm should he nail down his playing future for next year. Whatever, the sight of players venting their frustrations over contracts is a deeply concerning one and it is a situation which is unlikely to get better in the short-term. Around the regions, other players who could feature at the World Cup are still uncertain over their futures. Leigh Halfpenny and Rhys Patchell have been linked with moves away from the Scarlets, while plenty of words have been committed to print about the futures of Josh Adams and Liam Williams as Cardiff try to sort out a squad for next season. WalesOnline understands that other Welsh internationals currently in contract beyond the end of this season have been warned over their own situation and how they might be moved on to free up funds. Granted, those involved are perhaps a little removed from the current Wales set-up compared to the likes of Adams and Williams, but it's not outside the realms of possibility they could feature in the World Cup, too. At the very least, they are the definition of regional servants. Some, in fact, are one-club men and likely would wish to remain so. Welsh rugby took a big step forward at the weekend as member clubs voted overwhelmingly in favour of reform to the Welsh Rugby Union's governance structure, but there is still a lot of pain to withstand before things get better. Just a cursory glance on players' social media accounts tells you that. READ MORE: Rugby winners and losers as brutal Welsh rugby derby tactics condemned and WRU gets it right The Ieuan Evans and Nigel Walker interview: 'I applaud clubs for voting me out of a job' Wales international publicly urges clubs to call him as rugby future in limbo WRU vote results announced as clubs back radical changes at EGM Wales international offered £100,000 pay cut and Williams states case to Gatland