Hathaway targets more Wales caps after summer tour

Josh Hathaway was born in Aberystwyth

Wales wing Josh Hathaway's first experience of international rugby this summer might have been brief but it has left him wanting more.

After a breakthrough season with Gloucester, the 20-year-old was picked for Wales' summer tour of Australia and selected for the first Test defeat in Sydney.

An injury ruled him out of the remaining two tour games but with Wales facing November internationals against Fiji, Australia and South Africa, Hathaway hopes to be involved in Warren Gatland's squad again.

"The aspirations are still there to get as many caps as I can," said Hathaway.

"First things is the start of the Gloucester season but the dream now is to play as many internationals as I can, so I'll keep pushing on for that.

"I've had international aspirations since I was four so for them to finally come true is something I've always dreamt of.

"To start the first Test and get my first senior cap was surreal. I was gutted to pick up the injury but have got back to match fitness now. I'm ready to go."

Marked man?

Hathaway admitted he learned valuable lessons in Australia.

"The main thing was how physical and quick the game can be," said Hathaway.

"The Premiership is a great standard and you can never fault it. But when you go and play international rugby in Australia against the likes of Tom Wright and Andrew Kellaway, you learn off them while you're playing against them, that's the big thing.

"Playing also with Liam Williams and Gareth Davies, people I've looked up to since I started out in rugby, and getting to train and even spend time around camp with them was amazing."

Hathaway enjoyed a meteoric rise that helped fill the Gloucester void left by the departed Louis Rees-Zammit during the last campaign.

"It all started with Hartpury and then when I signed here with Gloucester, George [Skivington] gave me the opportunity," said Hathaway.

"How quick things have turned around from me playing at Hartpury to making my [Gloucester] debut on a Friday night against Saracens at Kingsholm.

"Everything happened so quickly, I'm still processing it. Hopefully I can get more appearances, push on for what I want and we get some good results."

Hathaway knows he will not be as much of a surprise package this season.

"You don't want to put too much pressure on yourself," said Hathaway.

"You want to be thinking it's just another game. That was my mindset last year going into the summer and it'll be the same this year.

"If people want to see me as a marked man, they can come but we've got the players and experience around me to put me in that space and give me the ball. That's what I'm looking forward to."

New signings to bolster Gloucester

Josh Hathaway was part of the Gloucester squad that won the Premiership Rugby Cup and reached the Challenge Cup final last season.

Hathaway will be hoping the players who can put him into space are Gloucester's new Wales half-backs Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe.

There is also the return to the Premiership of former England wing Christian Wade, who like Rees-Zammit also spent time trying to crack American Football's NFL before coming back to rugby, initially with Racing 92.

"They're exciting signings for us," said Hathaway.

"You've got two Welsh internationals and Wadey, who has been there and done everything.

"We know how good Tomos is on the ball, how quick and sharp he is.

"Gareth is so settled at 10, he can control a new team with new boys around him.

"Wadey can finish off tries. He's sharp and electric and I'm looking forward to playing with them."

So who is quicker between Wade and Hathaway if the pair staged a race?

"It would be a good one," said Hathaway.

"I think we'll have to get it done. I've had a few questions about it."

Gloucester are hoping that having the likes of Wade and Hathaway in the same backline this season will lead to entertaining and winning rugby after a disappointing ninth-place finish in the 2023-24 campaign.

"We've gone into this mindset this year we're going to play a lot more rugby and be a Premiership-winning worthy side," said Hathaway.

"We now have a game plan we all know. We have the same mindset of what we're going in to do and trying to achieve.

"We want to make the fans want to come to Kingsholm and cheer us on. We want teams to look at us and think they're a team who can win this. We want to push on."