Throws himself into
“You don’t want to pack it in without knowing you have given it 110 per cent.
“But to be on a rugby pitch, you need to be firing on all cylinders and I couldn’t change direction at speed and I didn’t have the agility. Sadly, the only option I had was to was to call it a day.
“I knew I couldn’t play rugby the way I was.”
So, a career which had brought him three Welsh caps and a memorable Test debut try against the Barbarians at just 19 was over.
The question was, what next? It was a question he had the answer to.
“I had always been interested in property and how mortgage rates and interest rates work,” he explains.
“So, I knew the path I wanted to go down, but I didn’t realise it would happen so quickly.
“I had done my initial CeMAP (Certificate in Mortgage Advice and Practice) exams and was thinking what to do next. Before I had a chance to think about it, I had the injury.
“I had thought I would get to 32-33 and then hang up my boots and go into another career.
“But, the way it’s turned out, it’s all happened pretty quickly and I have fast-tracked it.”
He threw himself into his studies, graduating well ahead of schedule, while a meeting with former Cardiff and Swansea scrum-half Andy Booth saw him go through an interview process with St James’ Place.
He was up against some 250 fellow candidates, but he proved successful and he will now be setting up his own practice – Harry Robinson Wealth Management - dealing with mortgages, protection, pensions and investments, in conjunction with St James’ Place.
“I feel hugely privileged to be given the opportunity,” he said.
“It’s hard to find something else to give you that buzz of taking the rugby field, but I feel just as passionate about what I’m going into.
“I will never be able to replace the buzz of rugby, but this now gives me a buzz too.
“I just want to get to the pinnacle in this profession and do as well as I can.
“I love the social side of rugby and a lot of what I am going to be doing is relationship-built. I get a kick out of helping people.”
The social side of rugby has certainly been evident through the support Robinson has received from his former teammates over the past year.
“They have been unbelievable,” he said.
“You miss the rugby and the big games and taking the field, but one of the biggest worries was missing out on having a laugh with the boys.
“But they have been absolutely great and really helped me through that dark patch of finishing rugby.
“Every time they finish training, I get the text saying let’s go and get a coffee. It’s pretty much like I haven’t really left the fold.
“They have been great support, the likes of Cory Allen, Lloyd Williams, Ellis Jenkins, James Davies, Hadleigh Parkes, Alex Cuthbert, a whole host of them.”
So, all in all, Robinson has no complaints about his lot.
“You look at the bigger picture and I feel immensely lucky to have had the career I did at such a young age,” he said.
“If I hadn’t achieved what I had, it might have been an even more bitter pill to swallow.
“But I played for Wales and scored a try on my debut at the Millennium Stadium at 19, which I will never forget.
“I did the Sevens, I played 50 games for the Blues, 25 for the Scarlets, it was a pretty good career to have even though I had to finish so young.
“I am pretty happy with what I achieved, so I wasn’t too rough on myself calling it a day.
“I had tasted what it is like to be an international rugby player, I had travelled the world.
“I can’t play rugby anymore, but there is no point in dwelling on this.
“As one door closes, I feel like another one has opened and I’m excited about the future. I am a lucky man.”
Harry Robinson Wealth Management can be contacted via harry.robinson@sjpp.co.uk