Dan Biggar’s international career ended in silence alongside Prince William in the Wales dressing room following their defeat by Argentina at the Rugby World Cup.
Wales were knocked out in the quarter-finals on Saturday following a 29-17 defeat in Marseille. Warren Gatland’s side had led 10-0 but succumbed to a stunning comeback from the Pumas, who progressed to play New Zealand in the semi-finals.
Biggar, 33, has scored 633 points for Wales over 112 appearances, but his career suffered a cruel ending. The fly-half was forced off in the second half, having taken a bang to the chest early on which exacerbated a pectoral muscle injury he had been carrying.
After watching Argentina pull clear from the bench, Biggar joined his disappointed team-mates in the dressing room, where the Prince of Wales and his son, Prince George, came to console them. "We're all totally gutted at going out, especially as we had a great chance of making another semi-final,” Biggar said. "I think deep down we all feel we were a little bit better here than just quarter-finalists.
"We'd all love to have the last 45 minutes of this game again, because I'm sure there would be a different outcome. Prince William and George came into our changing room after the game, but they didn't have much to say. I don't think they knew what to say – a bit like the rest of us."
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It was a bitter end for Biggar, but he was able to find plenty of positives for the team going forward. He said: "Five months ago I would have snatched your hand off if you'd offered me the chance to win all four of our pool matches and to go into a quarter-final with at least a 50-50 chance of going even further. It shows how far we've come in that time.
"We've really stepped up. And I've got no doubt this squad is going to do really good things in the future. There's tons of energy and passion in this group, and of course they've got a great coaching team behind them.
Prince William watched Wales' defeat by Argentina in Marseille (PASCAL GUYOT/AFP via Getty Images)"They will flourish in the environment Warren Gatland has created, so I really think the future is bright for Welsh rugby. From a personal point of view I'm naturally gutted that we came up just short in what will now be my last game for Wales.
"But it just wasn't to be. It's hard to feel anything but disappointed at the moment, but in time I'm sure that eventually I'll be able to look back at my last days as a Wales international with a lot of pride."
Gatland confirmed he will stay on for the next World Cup and had some kind words for his fly-half: “Dan has been a great servant for Welsh rugby. He has been through some incredible highs and some lows as well. To see him come into the side and mature and develop as a player, that has been pretty special.”
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