13 Facts About Rhys Priestland

Rhys Priestland was born on 9 January 1987 and is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Cardiff Rugby and the Wales national team.

Rhys Priestland made his Wales debut in 2011, and earned 50 caps – including being named in the squad for the 2011 and 2015 Rugby World Cups – before his move to England made him ineligible for selection.

Rhys Priestland played 150 games for them and scored over 1,000 points.

Rhys Priestland was again named on the bench for Wales' third match against Italy, but did not come on, before being left out of the squad entirely for the final two matches against Ireland and France.

Rhys Priestland returned to fitness in time to play in Wales' friendly match against Australia on 3 December 2011, starting ahead of Ospreys fly-half Dan Biggar.

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Full-back Leigh Halfpenny was given the goal-kicking duties during the tournament, so Rhys Priestland scored just three points: a penalty against Italy in the fourth match.

Rhys Priestland then missed the next game against Argentina, before making substitute appearances against both Tonga and Australia.

Rhys Priestland regained the starting job for the 2014 Six Nations, but Wales won just two of the four matches in which he started, and he was dropped to the bench for the final game against Scotland.

Biggar recovered in time to keep the starting job for the next game against Scotland, and in each of the next three games, Rhys Priestland was restricted to no more than cameo appearances in the final 10 minutes, although he did land two conversions as Wales mounted a late, but unsuccessful comeback against England.

In September 2017, more than a year after his last cap, Rhys Priestland said he would be surprised if he played for Wales again.

The WRU again changed its selection policy in October 2017, so that any player who signed a contract with a club outside Wales before then could be selected again, although their continued selection would depend on them returning to Wales at the end of their contracts; that meant Rhys Priestland was again eligible to play for Wales, and his club form led to him being picked for the 2017 Autumn internationals.

Rhys Priestland was on the bench for Wales' third match against New Zealand, but replaced Biggar for the final 17 minutes of the game, earning his 50th test cap.

Rhys Priestland picked up a hamstring injury in January 2018, but nevertheless he was selected for the 2018 Six Nations; however, the injury proved severe enough that he did not take part in the tournament.