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Wales and Lions legend Leigh Halfpenny made his return for Cardiff after 11 years away
Wales fly-half Callum Sheedy has hailed the impact of Leigh Halfpenny at Cardiff Rugby and says his professionalism has been an “eye-opening” for him.
Halfpenny returned to the Arms Park pitch in blue and black colours on Saturday night for the first time in 11 years.
The Wales legend has penned a player-coach deal with the capital city club and his impact is being felt not just on the pitch but off it too.
Halfpenny has always been known as someone who holds the highest of standards and Sheedy, who kicked the match-winning penalty against Ulster right at the death on Saturday evening, says his influence is being felt keenly.
“What I found with Leigh is he could watch a kick and would know exactly what was right or wrong,” Sheedy said, who admitted it would have been his more experienced team-mate taking the last-second kick to win the game, had he been on the field.
“Something technical like when you’re opening up too early or you’re closing off with your kick.
“Something we wouldn’t know, he’s just got an eye for it. You can tell he’s been top of the game for 17 years, even if you just look at what he does in the week.
“The visualisation he does and how professional he is with the preparation he does for each session.
“It’s eye-opening for me and I’m 30. So someone younger will be taking so much from him.”
Working alongside the Lions man has been a pleasure, he added, saying he gets for free what others pay to do.
“I’ve worked hard with Leigh since he has come in,” the Cardiff-born outside-half added.
“It’s been unbelievable to be able to work alongside him. People pay a lot of money to go and watch Leigh kick and I get to do it as a job.
“I feel privileged to be able to learn from someone as unbelievable as him.”
“He’s very good,” Sheedy added when asked about what advice Halfpenny has imparted.
“I remember the first time we had a chat about kicking and he was saying he’s not coming in to change me or how any of us kick, because we all have our different styles.
“It’s if we wanted to lean on him in any way.”
Sheedy kept his nerve and proved his doubters wrong with the penalty that sealed the win for Cardiff. The former Bristol Bears No 10 has been criticised for his place kicking before.
The Cardiff-born man, who was brought back into the Wales fold this autumn, says it’s all part and parcel of the job.
“I’ve been round long enough to know that people will jump on you when you miss a few kicks,” he added.
“It’s fine, it’s part of the job, there’s no problem at all. But I’ve also had plenty of kicks where they’ve been under pressure.
“I played 10 years in the Premiership, every kick’s pretty big there.
“I missed a few kicks last year, I’ll miss some more. But nights like tonight is what all the hard work’s for, so I’m pleased it went over.
“I’m just glad we got the result. That kick was the icing on the cake.”
