Kieran makes it the Hardy way
In 2016 Kieran Hardy was playing Welsh Premiership rugby for Carmarthen Quins and had previously trained, unpaid, with the Scarlets in a bid to impress at regional level.
Having earned a contract but with his game time limited in Llanelli, Wales’ new autumn call-up made the brave decision to step out of his comfort zone and join English Championship side Jersey.
Hardy signed for the Reds in May 2016 and it proved to be the making of the now 24-year-old scrum-half who was this week named in Wayne Pivac’s senior Wales squad for the first time.
“We had a meeting, so I was on Dai (Flanagan’s) back about getting out because I know the emails only go out 10 or so minutes before the squad gets announced,” said Hardy of how he learned of his Wales call. “I was itching to get out of the meeting. Then my emails wouldn’t refresh because my phone signal was terrible. I literally found out a minute before it went live.
“I rang my dad straight away and he was quite emotional. It was a really nice feeling and I’m really honoured. It was a bit of a surprise. There are a lot of quality nines in Wales at the moment with a lot of people putting their hand up. I was lucky enough to get the nod and I was extremely proud.
“It was a big day for me and my family and I’m looking forward to getting into it next week. If I can improve every day and show what I’m about then hopefully I will get a chance to pull on the shirt.”
Hardy was voted Jersey Reds Player of the Year in 2018.
Hardy has now got his rewards and he is looking forward to hopefully playing a part in Wales’ six upcoming games. First there is a warm-up with France, then the rearranged Six Nations clash with Scotland, and then four Autumn Nations Cup clashes.
“It was just an opportunity to play really at a challenging standard every week,” said Hardy when asked how his time in Jersey improved him as a player and person.
“I wasn’t really getting much game time with the Scarlets at the time. It was a bit of a risk, but I wanted to challenge myself and see how good I could be. The aim was to improve areas of my game as I wasn’t good enough to play regional rugby at the time . It was the best thing I ever did in the end and now I’m getting the opportunities I’ve worked so hard for.
“I tried my best every day to improve and it took four years, but to be where I am now considering what I’ve had to go through makes the route I’ve had more satisfying.
“My story show that there is always a way to where you want to be. It might not be as easy as coming out of an academy and being ready to play regional rugby. I definitely wasn’t and there are probably a lot of boys who aren’t ready for that step straight away. Sometimes the easiest route is not the best and you have to work hard and make some sacrifices along the way.
“Before I went to Jersey, I wouldn’t have considered myself a massive running threat. I worked alongside Harvey Biljon at Jersey who is an ex-scrum-half so having him look at my game every week and having some pointers from him ultimately made me much better.
“The move in general definitely made me a better person. I moved away from my family and I was only 19. I obviously had to look after myself. I grew in confidence with that.
“It was difficult for the first couple of weeks because I wasn’t used to it, but in the long term, as a person, I massively benefited from that journey.”
On his way to scoring a try for Scarlets against Leinster last year.
Hardy returned to the Scarlets in 2018 and has continued to improve rapidly at the Welsh region under the guidance of Pivac, Brad Mooar and now Glenn Delaney.
He credits his parents Richard – a WRU rugby coordinator in the Scarlets region – and Emma for supporting him through his career as he gets ready to rival Scarlets team-mate Gareth Davies and Rhys Webb of the Ospreys for a scrum-half berth.
Hardy knows former Scarlets coach and Wales boss Pivac well. He is one of 13 Scarlets in Wales’ 38-man squad. “My family have been massive, they’ve been so good,” he said. “They came to at least five games a year in Jersey. They flew out when they could and it’s not the easiest place to get to on weekends considering they were working.
“They drove to every away game, whether that was eight hours up to Leeds and back or whatever. It was massive knowing there were people supporting what I was doing back home.
“Ultimately, they’ve helped me a lot in my career and I’m grateful.
“If you’d told me four years ago I’d be in the Wales squad I would have had to have realised that there was a lot of hard work ahead and a lot of days when you feel like you’re a million miles away.
“But you take each day as it comes, each game as it comes, and hopefully you gradually get better and everything gets easier.
“I’ve had a few conversations with Wayne over the last year or so. It’s just about trying to find the little areas to improve. All the nines in Wales have good core skills and do what they do well so it was about me learning a bit more about game management and my communication.
“That’s something I’ve tried to improve and something Wayne saw could be improved. That’s been a big work on. The other two nines are obviously established at that level and they’ve done well for a number of seasons, but it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to.
“I had to work my way through the pecking order at the Scarlets and that’s always been the way I’ve done things. I’ve never had anything given to me.
“It’s something I’m looking forward to and hopefully I can thrive on that challenge and take an opportunity if it’s given to me.”
