Wales centre Jamie Roberts’ path to global stardom began 16 years ago at Cricc Rugby Club – a small, Welsh-only speaking club in Cardiff.
Seated second from the right, Roberts evolved from a nimbled-footed, shy boy into a one-man demolition crew whose injury in the second Test was arguably the turning point in the British & Irish Lions’ series defeat to South Africa.
Now established as one of the world’s finest centre, Roberts hopes to have a big say in Wales’ 2011 RBS 6 Nations.
Still just 24, Blues centre Roberts , is still on an upward trajectory and according to his first coach at Cricc Neville Powell he was always destined to make it at the very top.
He said: “Even at that early age he stood out from the crowd he was a big lad even then but he had tremendous balance and could run all day.
“He was always a centre or a full-back even though people might have been tempted to stick him in the forwards because he was such a big boy but he was so good with the ball in hand we never even considered it.
“He was always first on the training ground and first to be at the matches because he was so dedicated and you could see how much he loved playing rugby.
“Even if we lost he was never one of those kids who sulked he took everything in his stride and it has stood him in great stead for what he is doing now.
“He comes back to Cricc and he is still the same now as he was then – a really nice lad who is down to earth and really friendly.
“You can see some of the kids are a bit nervous about going to speak to him and hide in the corner but he always makes the effort to approach them and have a chat with them which makes them feel ten-foot tall.”
