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Assinaturas digitais > Blogue > The reluctant hero

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The reluctant hero

Postou 5 de fevereiro de 2015 Leigh Halfpenny is the quiet man of Welsh rugby, back home for the Six Nations and ready to show the fans just what life in Toulon has taught him.

I wouldn't say I'll ever be entirely comfortable with the attention." Leigh Halfpenny is one of rugby union's highest-paid players. He is the jewel in the crown of Welsh rugby; the man of the series in the Lions' victorious 2013 tour of Australia; and the potential star attraction of the upcoming Six Nations. He is a global superstar of the game. And yet he's so... nice.

The soft-spoken 26-year-old turns up to meet Sport bang on time. He introduces himself, asks about our journey down, poses patiently for our exclusive shoot and even manages a polite response when we offer him no more than a coffee and Mars Bar by way of sustenance.

The boy from the small town of Gorseinon may not relish the attention his talents inspire, but he is a bit special on and off the pitch. To understand what makes him tick, we start where every good story does - at the beginning.

"I remember it like it was yesterday," Halfpenny explains when we ask about the day he first picked up a rugby ball. "I was over at one of my best friends' houses after school, and he was getting ready for training. I hadn't ever done rugby at that time - I'd been playing football. He asked if I fancied it, so I said 'Why not?' I went down and just absolutely fell in love with the game. I was really lucky to have a fantastic coach in a guy called Rob Steele, and we never lost many games, so success was bred into me then. Certainly without that club, the coaches there and the mates I'm still close with now, I wouldn't be where I am right now."

Halfpenny is sitting in the depths of the Millennium Stadium, where Wales and England kick off the 2015 Six Nations on Friday evening. Ever since his international debut against South Africa in November 2008, he has been an integral part of a successful Wales set-up, and the man tasked with keeping the scoreboard ticking over courtesy of his jackhammer of a right boot. Yet another talent, as it turns out, with roots firmly embedded in west Wales. "The car park in Gorseinon was right behind the rugby posts, so every time I'd kick from the 22m line the ball would fly into it and hit the ears," he recalls with a laugh. "To stop hitting them, I had to move further and further back, so I just got used to kicking it further. There were times when I'd be kicking on another field and hit moving cars on the road nearby, My grandad would have to go and apologise.

"I have so many great memories of those days. My family have all been so supportive, but Grandad was the one who took me kicking. When I started, I missed all the time. I was hopeless, and there would be times after school when I'd be tired and wouldn't feel like it. But one thing I never forget Grandad saying is: `If you want to get where you wanna be, you've got to work hard - and if you're not doing the work, there's always someone else who is.' That's always stuck with me."

To read the full article, download issue 389 for free today..