HARRYBREEZE
SCARLETS BACK ROW
Born in London and educated at the renowned Whitgift School, Harry Breeze was on the books of London Irish until U16s level but always had an eye on playing for Wales.
The son of a Welsh-speaking father whose parents had moved from Ystradgynlais to England’s capital city in search of work during the 1960s, the red roots ran deep and an opportunity to join the mighty Scarlets of Llanelli a couple of years ago was not to be turned down.
Breeze, 19, played No.8 at Whitgift but is now earmarked as a six or seven.
“Although brought up in London, I grew up in a very Welsh household,” he said. “My grandparents were from a working-class, mining background in the valleys near Swansea so my desire to play for Wales came from that side of the family and I was delighted to get a chance with Scarlets.
“I was with London Irish for a couple of years but I’ve actually been part of the Welsh Exiles programme since I was 11. I played at the Rosslyn Park 7s for my prep school, The Mall in Strawberry Hill, and there was a WRU van there, so I went in and signed up.
“London Irish were obviously interested as well but when I was 16 and the offer from Scarlets came up, I felt like I couldn’t resist.
“They offered me a five-year plan and a route through their academy, so I did my last two years at school and joined full-time last summer. I’ve taken a gap year to give fulltime rugby a good go and this feels like the best route for me to take.”
Already capped by Wales at U18s level, Breeze would have represented the U19s this year had Covid-19 not struck. Mentored by Scarlets coaches Emyr Phillips and Richard Kelly, both former players, he now has his sights on mirroring the careers of three Welsh legends.
“Emyr played for Scarlets and Wales and there’s no one better to learn from,” says Breeze. “I do a lot of one-to-one stuff with him, reviewing my games and thinking about areas to improve, while Richard’s also been key to my development during the season.”
Breeze added: “As for players I admire, Sam Warburton would be the one I respect most. A lot of kids look up to him, but for me it’s just the way he played the game and was so cool in the head while being so physically emotional at the same time.
“I’ve always played on emotion, whether it be in a Whitgift or Wales jersey, and you could see Sam played on the edge.
“I also look up to Dan Lydiate for the way he puts his body on the line, while Justin Tipuric is one of the cleverest back rows in the world. The way he puts himself in the right positions is a real skill and if I could take bits from those three, I’ll be in a pretty good place.”
NEALE HARVEY
