Recently released Dragons prop Harry Fry has become the latest departing regional player to head for the English Championship. The 21-year-old loosehead has signed for Gloucestershire club Hartpury RFC.
While his elder brother Ben has broken through into the back row at the Gwent region, Harry didn’t manage to force his way into the first team after arriving from Gloucester in 2020, playing his rugby instead for Newport and out on loan at Hartpury, who he is now joining on a permanent basis.
From Radyr in Cardiff, he would have featured for Wales U20s a couple of years ago, but for a shoulder problem. Now, after limited action over the past couple of seasons, he is ready for a fresh start, but on familiar territory, as he studied at Hartpury College, as did flanker Ben.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Dragons. It’s a good club with some great people. It’s just there was no real opportunity for me in the first team squad. My game time was mainly with Newport. I did a four-week loan spell at Hartpury at the end of the season and they then offered me a contract off the back of that. So that’s me sorted for next year,” he said.
On his departure from the Gwent region, he said: “I wouldn’t say I was expecting to be released. I thought I was playing well in my second year, but I think the decision was already made. I think I kind of left it too late. You have just got to take it with a pinch of salt, I guess.”
Fry is one of 50-plus players leaving the four regions, while around 100 players are departing the English Premiership clubs, amid cost-cutting across the board in the pro game.
“It is a difficult time. I think Covid has massively affected a lot of young players. But I think you’ve just got to get used to moving where there is opportunity. There is a lot of change going on in all clubs at the minute. I have just kind of accepted it and I am raring to go wherever I need to go to progress,” he said.
His brother Ben, 23, has become a regular in the Dragons match-day squad, making 12 appearances in the season just gone on, so what has Harry made of his progress?
“I am as proud as I could be of him. I am super happy for him and hopefully I can follow up and do the same in the next couple of years. As a prop, there is a lot of learning and growing to be done, so if I can break through it will probably be slightly later on in my career than it was for him.”
Fry follows a number of other regional players in moving to the second-tier English Championship. Wales wing Jonah Holmes has joined Ealing Trailfinders after leaving the Dragons, while his now former back-three team-mate Will Talbot-Davies is off to Coventry. Cardiff trio Garyn Smith, Alun Lawrence and Ben Murphy have signed for the Cornish Pirates, Jersey and Doncaster respectively, with Wales U20s No 8 Morgan Strong switching to Ampthill from the Ospreys.
