Living life on the edge: Leicester's Harry Palmer excited by Cup chance

Harry Palmer’s rugby career has been light on trophies so far, even at junior level, but that’s something the 20-year-old hopes to put right at Mattioli Woods Welford Road this Sunday.

Leicester host Exeter Chiefs in the PREM Rugby Cup final, with the first piece of silverware of the English season on the line, and Palmer has put in a proper shift helping to get them there.

Winning the Cup would be a fitting reward for the youngster from Hinckley, who has started every match to date in their run to the final and scored his first senior try for the Tigers in last weekend’s 46-21 semi-final win over Bath.

“I may have won something at Hinckley, maybe some county plate or something, I seem to remember when I was younger, but nothing of this standard,” he said.

“It’s the first final at Welford Road in over a century and to be part of the group that could, potentially, go and win it, is something so special.”

It is a far cry from last season when Palmer cut a frustrated figure and spent a good chunk of it on loan in National One at Leicester Lions.

“I didn’t play as much last year, I was in and out, I played a lot at (Leicester) Lions. But Geoff (Parling) has come in and it’s flipped on its head this year, and I have played a lot; it’s unrea,” said Palmer.

“Every kid wants to play professional rugby when they are younger and to be able to play so much at a young age, I am very grateful. For me, you just can’t make it up. Every week you are learning something new, getting better at something.

“You’ve got to learn quick, the speed of the game is at a different level. If you don’t learn quick, you get left behind,” he added.

At 6’5 and just 15 stone 4lbs, Palmer has sometimes been viewed as being a bit too lightweight to play lock at this level, and has started to veer more towards six as his position.

In England ace Ollie Chessum, he has the perfect loose-forward hybrid role model to learn from, while head coach Parling, who was seen as a bit of a beanpole himself in his days as an England, Newcastle, Leicester and Exeter player, has also been an invaluable source of advice.

“I have always been slightly lighter as a player, and he found that a struggle throughout his career, and he’s just helped me through that and made me realise what you can achieve even when you lighter, and to keep building and not to worry about it and it will come in time.

“As a coach, throughout the forward pack, he is very hard on his detail and I think that shows in games: we all know what we are doing; he gives us a framework to play. Obviously we are all different players and have different attributes, good and bad, and he just wants us to play like who we are and do what we’re good at.

“Last year I started to play a lot more back row, and then really this year I have started to nail down that six role, and I have played a lot more there and developed my game in that six role. You play a lot more wide-forward stuff and you end up on the edge a bit more, so I am developing my game as that edge-forward.

“In this day and age, these hybrid forwards who can play in different positions are highly sought after, so if I can develop my trade to that second row as well, and cover it, that is definitely something that I would like to do.”