Jamie Roberts: Wales star lets medic use flat amid pandemic battle
- Published
Jamie Roberts made the last of 94 Wales appearances against New Zealand in November, 2017. He has also won three Lions caps
Wales rugby star Jamie Roberts has allowed a front-line medic to live in his Cardiff flat to help the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Roberts usually rents out the property as a holiday let.
"It's better that the flat is used by people in need," Roberts told BBC Radio Wales Sport.
"I managed to get an A&E doctor in there as of Friday, someone who's working on the front line with the NHS in Cardiff."
The 33-year-old Wales and British and Irish Lions centre has remained in South Africa with Stormers while the global crisis unfolds.
Stormers are one of the Super Rugby teams whose season has been put on hold.
Roberts, who has trained as a doctor, said: "I had a few cancellations on Airbnb. I've got a flat I stay in when I'm back in Cardiff.
"There's going to be a lot of NHS workers out there who won't want to be going from hospital to family and putting their families at risk and so they're going to need accommodation.
"So I guess anyone out there who has property which is empty; I'm sure there are plenty with Airbnb cancellations.
"So I guess it's about encouraging people to try and do the same as well. The NHS needs all the help it can get in these times."
Roberts does not expect his campaign to resume with Stormers.
"I doubt we're going to play again this season," he said.
"The most important thing that matters is people's health."
Roberts' parents are in Cardiff and he would have entered self-isolation for two weeks if he had flown back home.
"I'm not sure what I'd be coming home to, really," he said.
"And I won't be allowed back into South Africa as the rules stand."
Cardiff Blues defence coach Richard Hodges, meanwhile, has used social media to offer his five-bedroom home to NHS staff in the Welsh capital to use for free.