Gerwyn Price booked his place in the quarter-finals at Ally Pally with victory over Jose de Sousa on ThursdayWatch the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship - live on Sky Sports Darts - all the way through to the final on January 3
Friday 30 December 2022 11:36, UK
There is still a glint in the eye of Gerwyn Price whenever asked about his rugby days: his background in the sport helped create the formidable on-stage competitor that has changed darts, which is perhaps the same reason he misses it so dearly.
The Welshman continues to lead the way as World No 1 and remains in pursuit of a second World Championship crown after reaching the quarter-final stage at Ally Pally as he looks to further his explosive rise to the top of the game.
While the packed nature of the darting calendar allows for little downtime, Price, who previously played in the Welsh Premier Division prior to his arrival at the oche, admits he hopes to make a return to the field in some capacity in the not-so-distant future.
"I'm constantly thinking about my old life and when I used to play rugby, when I used to be in a bit better shape to what I am now, I didn't have to suck it in as much back in the day," joked Price in an interview with Sky Sports.
"I miss it, I miss my old life and I just want a little bit of it back so I spoke to my wife about it a couple of months ago, if there's one weekend I'm off then I'm going to put my boots back on and try to get myself back in shape and back on the field because I just need to do something I really enjoy again, which I really miss."
Away from competing, Price plans to put a greater emphasis on family life heading into the New Year.
"Next year I'm going to park the property business and focus as much as I can on the darts and take some time out as well because my girls are 16 and 12, time has gone by just like that and I need to spend a bit more time with them and do a lot more family things," he explained.
Price cruised beyond Jose de Sousa by a scoreline of 4-1 in Thursday night's fourth-round clash to reach the last eight, and is confident of adding a sixth televised title to his resume.
"If my A game is there from now on in, nobody beats me," he said. "That's not me being arrogant or big-headed, because if you'd asked anybody in this tournament they'd say the same."
Price believes he is still yet to hit top form in 2022 having been hindered early in the year by a fractured bone in his throwing hand.
"Psychologically and physically (it's been a tough year), I broke my hand in March just after the UK Open and so took a downward spiral," he admitted.
"My confidence was knocked, I couldn't hit anything, I couldn't win legs if I had six darts each throw so it was a difficult period for me.
"For about three or four months I was just scraping trying to find my form again and it was really tough.
"The moment I found the confidence in my hand and it started to heal then my game started to come back week by week.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not at my best yet but by the time the quarter-finals/semi-finals come, hopefully I get that far and I'll bring some of my best stuff out."
Watch the 2023 PDC World Darts Championship - live on Sky Sports Darts - through to the final on January 3.
