Halfpenny Reveals His Tough Summer

Following much speculation during the off-season, the Scarlets’ big-name signing has finally spoken about his ‘tough’ summer and joining the Scarlets.
Leigh Halfpenny admitted that Toulon’s decision not to extend his contract for another season came completely out of the blue, revealing that as far as he was concerned, terms were agreed before the French giants played their semi-final match and the news he received whilst on tour with the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand was a huge surprise.
“My contract, when I first signed, was for 2 years plus one. For that third year option I was able to negotiate a release in the contract that if I was selected for the Lions, I was able to go on the tour,” Leigh explained.
“It was a tough choice” he continued “To go on a Lions tour to New Zealand is just the pinnacle of a rugby player’s career and this would be the only opportunity I’d get to go to New Zealand as a Lion. But it was tough. You play all season with your club and the boys get to the final, to the biggest game of the season and you have to leave them.”
Leigh Halfpenny left on the tour along with his fellow players aware that there had been delays in his contract, but confident that his future would include another season in Toulon.
“I had agreed a long time ago to stay at Toulon for one more season, but for whatever reason there were delays, delays, delays. Before the semi-final everything was agreed, it was just a case of signing the contract, but it never came through.”
“To find out in New Zealand that there wasn’t an option for me was extremely tough” he continued. “It was tough watching the final and not being there but then to have that news……It is special being on a Lions’ Tour, every player’s dream, but it was tough focusing on the Lions with all that going on. Then there was all the speculation after which was tough to deal with.”
Despite the fantastic achievement of drawing the series against the World Champions, the Lions team was frustrated that they didn’t reach their goal of beating the All Blacks. On a personal level, Leigh’s tour didn’t quite go to plan “As a player you want to push to start the tests. It was disappointing but I couldn’t argue with the decision. Liam had a fantastic tour and fully deserved his place. We’re great friends and I was delighted for him but competition for places is healthy – it motivates you to work hard and to see where you can improve your game.”
Following that tough summer, Halfpenny was forced to reassess his options and with his Toulon option gone, knew he wanted to return to Wales. Enjoying being back home in Gorseinon among his family and friends Leigh revealed that his Mum’s side of the family have been Scarlets supporters for years, recalling happy memories of following his new club at Stradey Park with his Auntie. “It’s exciting – I’m looking forward to going out and pulling on the Scarlets jersey.”
Leigh revealed that when he knew he wanted to come back home to Wales, the Scarlets felt like the right choice from all the other options that were available to him. “With Liam and DTH going there was a vacancy in the back 3 which fitted well. After watching the way the Scarlets play, the attacking rugby, I was looking to bring that back into my game, “ he continued. “Plus when I spoke to Wayne Pivac, he said they saw me as a 15 and wanted to develop me as a 15 here which is my preferred position.”
Halfpenny was so eager to get started at his new club that he requested to start training a week earlier than planned. “I was in the right place,” he added. “I wanted to get started, to get to know the club, coaching staff and the players I didn’t know as well as some.”
Possibly a little earlier than he expected will be his return trip to Toulon, who are the Scarlets opponents for the opening round of this season’s Champions Cup on October 15th. “I enjoyed my time there. They’re a good bunch of boys and the fans are fantastic.” “We’ve got an exciting challenge ahead,” he continued, “As a squad we want to kick on and repeat the success of last season. Europe is another level and our focus is to get out of the group stages.”
Providing he continues to tick all the boxes, Halfpenny will be completing his given target and making his much-anticipated debut by starting at Full Back for the opening game of the Pro14 on Saturday against the Southern Kings at 5.30pm