Cardiff<\/a>, that Hamer-Webb qualifies for Wales. Pulling on the red jersey has long been an ambition of the wing, even after leaving Cardiff for Leicester Tigers last summer.<\/p>\n“I think people got the wrong idea when I left Cardiff, that I was leaving that aspiration behind. But it was still up there for me. I spoke to Steve before the autumn, but you never know if you’re getting called up, so it was a good surprise.”<\/p>\n
And, having lost both his father and brother in recent years, a poignant one at that.<\/p>\n
“I lost my father when I was 18 and then I lost my brother last year,” he says. “It was two quite big figures in my family.<\/p>\n
“Being the only Hamer-Webb man left in my family and having to push forward and look after my family in that sense was big for me.<\/p>\n
“My family got a lot smaller. It’s just me, my sisters and my mum in my instant family.<\/p>\n
“It’s tough to say, really. There’s some pressure on myself to fill the shoes of my father.<\/p>\n
“But ultimately, looking after each other and the way it’s brought my family together is the main part – we appreciate everything that little bit more.<\/p>\n
“I know the old man would be looking down and be proud. That’s all I can really ask for.”<\/p>\n
This weekend saw Hamer-Webb celebrate his call-up with a first try for Leicester, having joined them from Cardiff at the start of the season. The wing has enjoyed something of a varied career before that, with a spell in New Zealand with Southlands prior to heading to the Welsh capital.<\/p>\n
“It’s not one I imagined myself having when I started my career at Bath,” he admits. “But it’s one I’m very, very grateful for what it’s taught me and how it’s shaped me as a man.<\/p>\n
“Travelling to the other side of the world is no mean feat. So that teaches you a lot.<\/p>\n
“And then working my way back into European rugby and getting to Cardiff then Leicester, it’s been a hell of a journey for myself.<\/p>\n
“Not an easy one whatsoever. One of many highs but also many lows. I think it’s the journey that has got me to the point where I am to be called up by Wales.”<\/p>\n
That call-up with Wales will see him reunited with former Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt, who is currently drawing up Wales’ attack.<\/p>\n
In the past, those wearing the 11 jersey in a Sherratt backline seem to have benefitted when it comes to getting to the try-line – just ask Hamer-Webb about his hat-trick in Judgement Day last season.<\/p>\n
“It’s going to be great working alongside him because there were so many things he’s taught me and I really appreciate how his coaching style works on me,” says Hamer-Webb. “It really does work well with me.<\/p>\n
“We got along really well. He had a couple of nicknames for me. But I’ve been looking at Wales’ system to familiarise myself with it and it’s one I’m used to.<\/p>\n
“There are different parts from stuff I’ve seen before, so it’s something I can plug myself into and really push myself to make the most of it.”<\/p>\n
When it comes to what Hamer-Webb believes he could bring to the Test game, it’s an area that has become increasingly important in the modern game.<\/p>\n
With the lack of escort runners and blockers, the aerial game has become more of a source of attacking possession – with Hamer-Webb describing the ability to take the ball in the air as “gold dust right now”.<\/p>\n
“My aerial work is something that’s massive in the back-three right now,” he says. “It’s very important to be good in the air, both in attack and defence.<\/p>\n
“I think it’s something you have to have now. It’s not an option. Teams that don’t have the ability to do that, it’s a weak spot that you can go after.<\/p>\n
“You look at the lads in the Wales squad. Tom Rogers is outstanding in the air. (Louis) Rees-Zammit too. They absolutely go after it. It’s something I want to add to.<\/p>\n
“Test rugby will of course be faster and it’s about reacting quicker, but it’s doing what you do at your club and being confident to do things.<\/p>\n
“But I think my gritty work-rate, which has only been pushed on since joining Leicester, will help me at that level.”<\/p>\n
The road less travelled has taken Hamer-Webb to this point. Now, it would seem, it’s just the start.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gabriel Hamer-Webb was called into the Wales squad by Steve Tandy earlier this week Gabriel Hamer-Webb will link…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391075,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[8934,5903,101,56,54,55,42626],"class_list":["post-391074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-premium","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wales-rugby-union-team"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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