{"id":206775,"date":"2025-10-17T15:15:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/206775\/"},"modified":"2025-10-17T15:15:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:15:07","slug":"new-ross-moriarty-has-a-simple-answer-to-the-wales-question-after-years-of-snubs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/206775\/","title":{"rendered":"New Ross Moriarty has a simple answer to the Wales question after years of snubs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The 31-year-old could feature in Steve Tandy&#8217;s first Wales squad, having fallen out of favour under Warren Gatland<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_JS380063404.jpg\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>Ross Moriarty in action for the Ospreys(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">Ross Moriarty insists he&#8217;s not thinking of a Wales recall, having returned home after falling back in love with rugby in France.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">The 31-year-old hasn&#8217;t featured for Wales since the 2022 <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/six-nations\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Six Nations<\/a>, having fallen out of favour with <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/warren-gatland\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Warren Gatland<\/a>. However, with Gatland gone after his disastrous second spell, replaced by Steve Tandy, there&#8217;s every chance Moriarty could add to his 54 caps this autumn when Tandy names his first Wales squad next week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">However, despite a solid start to the season with the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/ospreys\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ospreys<\/a>, Moriarty insists a Wales recall isn&#8217;t on his mind.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve come home to play for the Ospreys and enjoy my rugby,&#8221; says Moriarty. &#8220;That&#8217;s what I&#8217;ve been doing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;Whatever else happens outside of that is not in my control. I just want to enjoy playing rugby now.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve been doing that with the Ospreys. We&#8217;ll see what happens when it comes to it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">Moriarty has come full circle this summer, joining his home region Ospreys after a spell with Brive. His stint in France helped the former Dragons back-row rediscover his love for rugby, having swapped Welsh rugby&#8217;s goldfish bowl for the altogether different intensity that French club rugby offers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;I&#8217;d always wanted to play in France and it didn&#8217;t disappoint,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It was great.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;It was a great place, a great town. Everyone was really in it for the rugby. I had missed that and while I was there, I think I got back the love of the game again and why I do it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;It was a great experience. Rugby was like a religion there. We would average about 10 or 11,000 fans throughout the season and 15,500 for big games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;When you lost you really felt around the town and outside of training. It was full-on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;But I got to play with some amazing players, young guys who have since gone to top clubs and a lot of ex-internationals. Courtney Lawes came last season, who I&#8217;d played with on the Lions tour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;It&#8217;s a different style of rugby. It&#8217;s very physical, but very expansive. It&#8217;s tough, but it&#8217;s enjoyable when it goes well.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;I&#8217;ve played in every top league in Europe now. I think it&#8217;s definitely expanded my game again, with how loose and open it can be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;That&#8217;s brilliant to have in your back pocket, being able to not be bogged down by structure all the time. That definitely changed my way of playing rugby and I get more enjoyment out of it now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">Even with the Ospreys&#8217; move to St Helen&#8217;s delayed until next season, the latest chapter in the British and Irish Lion&#8217;s career represents something of a homecoming.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">Moriarty began his rugby journey in the Ospreys&#8217; academy before heading to Gloucester, even playing his first match for the Cherry and Whites against the Ospreys in 2012.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">And, of course, his father is none other than former <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/all-about\/swansea\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Swansea<\/a> and Wales back-row Paul.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">Signing for Ospreys is a homecoming for Moriarty, the son of former Swansea back-row Paul who grew up in the city and took his first steps in rugby with the region&#8217;s academy before forging his professional career at Gloucester.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;It&#8217;s quite funny that I&#8217;ve come full circle,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;I always had an ambition to play for the Ospreys, but it didn&#8217;t go that way for me at the time (at the academy), he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">&#8220;This is where I&#8217;m from, my family, my wife, so it makes sense. It&#8217;s great to be back.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">* Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walesonline.co.uk\/newsletter-preference-centre\/?view=Solus&amp;mailingListId=e90f3817-255f-4349-881b-d9a4515d3f52&amp;utm_source=solusarticle\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> free daily newsletter here<\/a> and our <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/L8kRCygN2HM6E7iILK0spC\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WhatsApp channel here<\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">You can also follow us on social media on our <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WalesRugby\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow\">X account<\/a>, <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Walesrugbynews\/?locale=en_GB\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Facebook<\/a>,<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/walesrugbyonline\/?hl=en\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> Instagram<\/a> and<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@walesonlinerugby\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> TikTok.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\" publication=\"walesonline\">For more exclusive stories and in-depth analysis, you can<a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/walesrugby.substack.com\/subscribe?coupon=7b6a76da\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"> sign up for the Inside Welsh Rugby substack newsletter here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 31-year-old could feature in Steve Tandy&#8217;s first Wales squad, having fallen out of favour under Warren GatlandRoss&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[26771,89163,5903,101,56,54,55,9015],"class_list":["post-206775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-ospreys","tag-ross-moriarty","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wales-rugby-team"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}