'Phenomenal' try scorer tipped to be Wales rugby union star despite being off limits for now

He's been compared to Jason Robinson and Shane Williams yet Pivac can't pick him

A question from Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link once ran: “The American author of travel books such as Notes from a Small Island and A Walk in the Woods is Bill…?

“Shankly,” came the contestant's reply.

Call it a punt that didn’t quite come off.

In the same inquisitive spirit, ask many casual sports observers about the gifted Welsh rugby player called Regan who scores tries for fun and you may be greeted by equally nonplussed responses.

But Regan Grace is a talent, and a major one at that.

Hailing from Port Talbot, the former Ospreys U16s player scored 22 tries in 33 games for St Helens rugby league club last year, just two behind Tommy Makinson, the Super League’s top scorer. Some of Grace’s touchdowns were picture-book affairs, seeing him twisting the opposition defence inside out, with pace and dazzling footwork to the fore. Little wonder some have compared him with Jason Robinson, a cross-code great who Grace names as his favourite player.

Yet in some respects Grace’s exploits will remain something of a secret to those in Wales who prefer their rugby with flankers, line-outs and three points for a drop-goal.

Does that frustrate him? “It’s not about me personally,” he says. “It’s about the sport.

“I was fortunate enough to find rugby league when I was young. I played union, too, and enjoyed both games. I just loved playing rugby, whether union or league.

“The opportunity came earlier in league, so I took it.

“I properly invested myself in the game and discovered how big it is up here. It means so much to everybody and has such a big following.

“That said, I would like to see it expand.

“I find it frustrating there are people in the sport who just want to keep it where it is.

“I said in a blog not so long ago there are obviously players out there who don’t quite suit rugby union but would suit rugby league, even if they don’t know it. They may not have had opportunities to play the sport because it isn’t pushed enough into those areas.

“I know they’ve tried it in a lot of places and it hasn’t come off, but I just think it does need to expand into other areas and countries and stuff.

“Expansion would take it to the next level. It’s an amazing sport. But it needs more eyes on it.”

Grace’s path to league saw him play union for the Ospreys U16 and league for South Wales Scorpions. At 17, he had no defined ideas about which way his time on this earth would turn out — “I didn’t know what I was doing in life. I just thought I’d go and get a job in scaffolding or something like that,” he once told The Guardian.

But a middle man made contact with St Helens, and the youngster’s circumstances changed overnight.

It wasn’t all wine and roses to start. Grace has since recalled how he phoned his mother during that first pre-season telling her he was coming home because “it was like being in the army”. No sergeant major was definitively involved, but it was proper training. “The first time I did a gym session I couldn’t lift my arms for days after,” Grace said in his Guardian interview.

But, encouraged by his mother, the brother of former Big Brother star Lateysha Grace stuck it out and progress started to be made. Tries started to come and Saints promoted him to their senior team. There has been chatter in South Wales about him potentially returning home to play 15-a-side, but no region has ever made a firm approach.

Will we ever see him playing senior rugby union in Wales? “I get asked the question a lot,” says Grace.

“I never decided that I wasn’t going to play (union at senior level).

“The first opportunity that came to me was in league when I had a chance to turn professional when I was 17. I just took it with both hands.

“I thought it was my last chance to go somewhere serious.

“The move took me out of the environment that I was in and made me focus just on rugby.

“But I have never said I’m not going to go to rugby union.

“It’s just that all my opportunities have come through league.

“Right now, I’m happy up here. It’s a class sport, I’m with a great club and the supporters are brilliant.

“I also still have a year and a half left on my contract.

“I’m really enjoying it.”

Those do not read as the words of a man in a hurry to up sticks any time soon.

But Clive Griffiths, who coached Wales at league and union, has no doubt Grace could make it big in 15-a-side he decided on a code switch.

“He has the ability to play international rugby union for Wales — of course he does,” says Griffiths.

“I know people say it doesn’t always work out for league players changing codes, but I think it would work for Regan.

“He reminds me of Shane Williams in that he’s very quick, can sidestep and has the ability so spin out of tackles.

“I looked at his stats the other day and in 93 games for St Helens he’s scored 47 tries. That’s a phenomenal strike rate.

“He’s 5ft 10 and just under 13st but he’s all muscle and he’s tough with it. Coming from Port Talbot, he’s knows how to look after himself and he can take a knock.”

What would Griffiths’ advice to Grace be? “My advice would be to stay where he is for the time being,” is the reply.

“At 23, he has plenty of time to consider other options.

“He’s already playing for a great club in St Helens and he’s won a grand final. Next year he will play for Wales in a World Cup and he may get to play for Britain at some point.

“I would try to tick all those boxes if I were him.

“Regan may then say to himself ‘what else is there?’

“The lure of playing union for Wales in front of a full house at the Principality Stadium, perhaps with England or New Zealand as opponents, would be huge for any rugby player.

“Maybe Regan would want to sample it.

“If it didn’t work out, he could always go back to league.

“But I have no doubt it would click for him.

“Wales have a lot of good wingers in union now, but Regan is a heck of a player.

“For me, that’s all for the future, though. He’s a boy who still has mountains to climb in league.”