Leigh Halfpenny

Club

Harlequins

Position

Full-back

Nationality

Wales

Date of birth

1988-12-22

Birthplace

1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)

Height

1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)

Stephen Leigh Halfpenny (born 22 December 1988) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a fullback or wing for the Scarlets, Wales and the British and Irish Lions. Halfpenny is the third highest record points scorer for Wales after Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones.

Early life
Halfpenny is from Gorseinon, in Swansea. He attended Pontybrenin Primary School and Penyrheol Comprehensive School.

Early career
A winger or fullback, he was signed as a youth by the Ospreys and played the 2005–06 season with the Ospreys U18s. Halfpenny then trained with Neath RFC during the 2006–07 season, before signing for the Cardiff Blues and spending the whole 2007–08 season playing for feeder club Cardiff RFC, before making his regional debut against Ulster at the Ravenhill Stadium in May 2008, scoring three conversions in the 17–26 victory.

Club career
On 18 April 2009, Halfpenny scored two tries for the Cardiff Blues in the final of the EDF Energy Cup, a 50–12 win over Gloucester at Twickenham. In January 2014 Halfpenny announced that he would be leaving the Blues at the end of the 2013–14 season after signing a two-year deal with French giants Toulon.

He did not get to complete the 2013–14 season due to receiving a dislocated shoulder in the RBS Six Nations match against England. Thus his final match with the Blues was against Exeter Chiefs on 18 January, where the Blues lost 13–19. Halfpenny contributed a conversion and two penalties to the game.

On 16 September 2014, Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal said that he may terminate Halfpenny's contract due to reoccurring injury problems, though this was later resolved. Halfpenny finally made his Toulon debut on 12 October 2014, two months after the start of the Top 14 season.

On 2 May 2015, Halfpenny scored 14 points in the 2015 European Rugby Champions Cup Final as Toulon beat Clermont to claim record third successive European title.

On 3 August 2017, Halfpenny returned home to Wales to sign for regional team Scarlets on a three-year contract, which is a National Dual Contract with the Welsh Rugby Union, from the 2017–18 season.

International career
2008–09
As a former Wales Under 20 international, he was selected in October 2008 for the Wales national rugby union team squad for the 2008 Autumn internationals series. Halfpenny made his debut for Wales aged 19 in their first game of the autumn internationals against world champions, South Africa on 8 November 2008. He scored his first points for W