In the land of the giants that the Wales back division has become, it would be easy for Leigh Halfpenny to be overlooked. At 5ft 10in and 13st 5lb, the full back is three inches shorter and almost three stones lighter than any of the other strike weapons that Rhys Priestland and Mike Phillips, the Wales half backs, have at their disposal.
There must be times when Halfpenny feels like Gulliver in Brobdingnag, but, towards the end of a season in which Shane Williams retired from international rugby, it is heartening to see him maintaining a Welsh tradition of producing impishly elusive runners. Like Williams before him, Halfpenny has come to see his height — or lack of it — as an advantage.
“I’ve always had to deal with that because, growing up, I was always one of the smallest,” he said. “But I think it’s helped me. I find it easier beating bigger guys; I can put them off balance more easily. I enjoy tackling them as well. There’s more to get hold of.”
Five months ago, a lack of inches in a different sense defined one of the pivotal moments of Halfpenny’s career. In the World Cup semi-final in Auckland against France, he had the chance to win the game for Wales with a late, long-range penalty attempt. His kick did not quite have the distance and France were 9-8 winners.
As Wales prepare to face France again on Saturday, looking to complete the grand slam in the RBS Six Nations Championship, Halfpenny’s kick will be replayed time and again on TV screens across Wales. For some time, it also replayed on a reluctant loop in Halfpenny’s mind.
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“There wasn’t one single day when that kick didn’t go through my head,” he said. “But I said to myself that, the next time I get an opportunity like that, I’m going to nail it.”
It took 107 days of torturous flashbacks to Auckland before that opportunity presented itself. Some would have buckled in the meantime, but Halfpenny, 23, intensified his goalkicking training. Previously a long-range specialist, he quickly became Cardiff Blues’ front-line kicker and when Priestland’s boot was misfiring in the opening Six Nations game against Ireland, Halfpenny took over for Wales.
Trailing 21-20 in the final minute, Wales won a penalty 30 metres out and Halfpenny stepped forward. With one kick, he was free. “That put it to bed finally,” he said. “It was the best thing to have happened in my career.”
Victory in Dublin gave Wales the momentum that has carried them to the verge of a third grand slam in eight seasons. Halfpenny, meanwhile, has remained first-choice goalkicker. He is the highest points-scorer in the Six Nations with 55. He also has the best kicking percentage rate at 85 per cent and, when he takes the field for his 32nd cap on Saturday, he will be looking to extend a run of nine successful kicks.
“Leigh’s always wanted to be a frontline kicker and he’s been able to do that this year,” Neil Jenkins, the Wales skills coach, said. “There’s no looking back for him now and it’s going to be very difficult for anyone to get it off him.”
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Warren Gatland, the Wales head coach, described Halfpenny last week as the most professional player in his squad. After making his first 21 international starts on the wing, he now looks comfortably ensconced at full back in Gatland’s hugely promising team, of whom so much is expected.
Those expectations will translate into a thunderous atmosphere in the Millennium Stadium on Saturday and the pressure on goalkickers will be immense. If Halfpenny is presented with another last-gasp opportunity to kick the winning goal, he will step forward, remove his scrum cap and take himself out of the stadium, all the way back to his home town of Gorseinon, near Swansea.
“I just imagine myself on the training pitch at Gorseinon, where it’s just me, the ball and a set of posts,” he said. “It’s very peaceful. That’s how I block out all the surrounding noise.”
If that kick goes over and Wales have won another grand slam, it will be the last peace that Halfpenny gets for quite some time.