Jamie Roberts has not discounted joining the exodus of Wales internationals to France and England when his contract with Cardiff Blues runs out at the end of next season. The performances of the 25-year-old Lions centre during the World Cup alerted a number of French clubs in particular, and he says that his career will reach a crossroads in 18 months.
Warren Gatland is determined to keep his squad in Wales after losing Mike Phillips, James Hook, Andy Powell, Lee Byrne and Craig Mitchell to Top 14 and Premiership sides this year. Gatland, the national coach, has warned players considering leaving Wales that they will be jeopardising their international careers unless they secure in their contracts a release clause guaranteeing they will be available for their country when required.
"My contract with the Blues has 18 months to run and I hope that is when I will graduate in medicine," said Roberts, who declared he would be fit to play for Wales against Australia next week after missing the second round of the Heineken Cup with a knee injury.
"It will conclude a four-year plan of mine which was that finishing my degree course would coincide with the end of my contract with the Blues. It means that in 18 months I will reach a huge crossroads in my career. It will come around very quickly and I am pretty sure that whatever path I take will be decided for me nearer the time.
"I just hope I am still playing rugby by then because there is so much that can happen in that length of time. At the moment I am just concerned about being fit to face Australia. I have been in rehab with Wales all week and should be ready to go in training by Monday.
"We have some big incentives to win. First, it will be Shane Williams's final match for Wales: he has been an inspiration to many and it is frightening to think how many youngsters have taken up rugby through watching him. Second, we want to get one back on Australia for beating us in the World Cup play-off last month."
Wales finished fourth in their tournament, their best World Cup return for 24 years, but Roberts said the players had not been congratulating themselves and were determined to use New Zealand as a launching pad.
"I am a firm believer that you get nothing without hard work," he said. "That was shown at the World Cup and we have to keep it going for the game against Australia and in the Six Nations. Warren Gatland has shown with his selection that he is not afraid to give youth a chance and it is scary to think that after Shane I am the oldest back. No one can afford to rest on their laurels."
Roberts was speaking at the launch of a Welsh Rugby Union initiative designed to harness the interest generated in Wales by the national side's strong showing in the World Cup. Join the Beat is an initiative designed to increase participation in the game on and off the field.
"Rugby is the heartbeat of the Welsh nation," Joe Lydon, the Welsh Rugby Union's head of rugby, said. "We had one of the youngest squads in the World Cup and they showed that the values we hold dear in Welsh rugby are thriving.
"Young players are coming through the system showing not just talent but the right attitude. We know we have to keep working harder: we are only a small nation and projects aimed at increasing participation at the grassroots are hugely important for us."
