From scoring tries for Wales, Harry Robinson has now converted to different field
THE weather is overcast on June 2 2012 in Cardiff as the team bus trickles into the Millennium Stadium through Westgate Street.
On the bus is an 18 -year-old Harry Robinson. He is about to do what thousands of young people dream of everyday. He is about to play rugby for Wales.
‘’I just remember pinching myself. Playing for my country is something that nobody can take away from me,’’ said Harry Robinson, now 28, about his debut against the Barbarians. However, the dream of playing for your country can only be surpassed by one thing, scoring the opening try on your debut.
That is the reality Mr Robinson was confronted with when he was set free after Lloyd Williams, Ian Evans and Matthew Rees combined leaving Robinson with space to pounce.
‘’I saw a load of open space in front of me on the wing, so I got the ball, pinned my ears back and went for it,’’ he said.
This try was symbolic of his hard work which led him to international rugby. But the journey to the pinnacle of sport started back home during his schooldays at Radyr Comprehensive and at local side Pentyrch RFC.
Early Years
‘’I played football originally as my brother played. A close friend of mine started playing rugby for local side Pentyrch RFC and said I should come along. I was skinny so they stuck me on the wing.
‘’I started playing and got hooked, I took to rugby like a duck to water.’’
‘’Harry gave everything to senior school rugby,’’ said Khalid Jama, PE teacher to Harry Robinson at Radyr Comprehensive.
All the way through secondary school, Harry Robinson threw himself into his rugby and stood out for his team ethic.
Mr Jama said: ‘’Harry always saw himself as part of the team and never as a standout player. His commitment to school rugby from year seven to year 13 was first class.’’
Following his success at a local level, Mr Robinson managed to get into the Cardiff Schools district teams.
From that moment he never looked back and worked his way through the different age groups of the Cardiff Schools teams and latterly into the Cardiff Blues academy.
Then, one hundred days after his 17th birthday, he broke a record.
Harry Robinson became the youngest person ever to make his debut for the Cardiff Blues first team.
‘’I got a phone call from Dai Young and he told me I was playing next weekend. I was a sixth former at this stage so I was so nervous to start playing alongside these guys,’’ he said.
Off the back of a promising start to professional rugby, Robinson was sent to play Rugby Sevens in Australia, Dubai and South Africa by Young in the 2011/12 season.
‘’I probably wasn’t as fit as the other guys but I really enjoyed playing sevens.
‘’It suited my game and wanting to run fast,’’ Robinson said.
Making it to the biggest stage
The switch to sevens seemed to benefit Mr Robinson’s union game very well as after this he was selected in the Wales squad for the upcoming Barbarians game.
‘’I was proud. All my family and friends were there to see my debut. After doing sprints in the rain and all those training sessions with my dad, it was a dream start to international rugby,’’ said Mr Robinson.
After his initial success, Mr Robinson managed to get a seat on the plane for a tour to Japan in June 2013 aged just 20.
He played both tests in the two -match series against Japan.
In the next season, however, Mr Robinson suffered a dip in form. With a move to Scarlets he hoped this would help get him back into the running for the next summer’s Wales squad.
‘’I really liked the rugby they were playing at Scarlets,’’ he said.
The Injury
However, close to the end of that 2013/14 season against Edinburgh, Mr Robinson suffered the injury that would later see his untimely retirement from rugby.
The injury he sustained from a tackle forced two discs to slip into his spinal cord and while he managed to keep going for another season, in April 2016 he had to retire on medical grounds.
‘’I was lucky to be walking, I have still lost my balance completely,’’ said Mr Robinson.
After being told he could never play rugby again, Mr Robinson suffered from more than just the physical injury itself.
‘’I couldn’t watch rugby for about a year after the injury. I felt I had been robbed.
‘’It is like I had lost a bit of my identity,’’ Mr Robinson said.
However, the hard work and motivation of a professional sportsman shines through when he discusses his views on getting up and moving past the injury and moving past rugby as a career.
‘’There is no point crying,’’ he said.
This decision was forced upon him but he has an instinct to keep working hard and keep going despite the tough times. This is when he made a move into a different industry all together.
During his stint as a Scarlets player aged 19 to 20, Mr Robinson completed his exams to make him a qualified mortgage advisor.
‘’I bought and sold a few houses on the side when I was playing for Scarlets so I had an idea of what I could do after rugby,’’ said Mr Robinson.
This became a reality under a year after retiring when he moved to Birmingham to join the St James’s Place academy with a view to completing his financial qualifications.
St James’s Place is one of the largest wealth management companies in the UK. They enable businessmen like Mr Robinson to start their own wealth management companies within them and gain support from the parent company.
The World of Finance
This is what Harry Robinson did and, in the summer of 2017, launched Harry Robinson Wealth Management.
On running his own business, Mr Robinson said: ‘’It is like playing rugby, everyday isn’t going to be sunshine and rainbows.’’
However, in the four years since opening his wealth management company, Harry Robinson now has a company to expand.
‘’I surrounded myself with a good team,’’ Mr Robinson said.
In recent weeks, the company have brought in a practice manager and in the next five years Mr Robinson hopes the company continues expanding and bringing on more clients.
With distance, Harry Robinson can now enjoy the game again and also works closely with players in getting them to consider their own futures after rugby.
Last week, he spoke to players from Ospreys on the possibility of a future in finance following their careers in rugby.
On his success in the world of finance, Mr Jama said: ‘’Given the tenacious player Harry was, it is of no surprise that he is achieving such good things in the world of finance. We are all very proud of his achievements, both as a Welsh international rugby player, as well as a businessman.’’
