Callum Sheedy always knew he wanted to return to Cardiff and having returned to his boyhood club in the summer, he is excited for the latest chapter in his impressive career.
The fly-half came through the ranks at the Arms Park and starred for the age-grade sides, often going head-to-head with Jarrod Evans in North vs South derbies.
But having secured a scholarship at Millfield, Sheedy ended up going into the Bristol Bears system, where he went on to make more than 160 appearances.
Now, having returned to the Welsh capital, Sheedy is already being talked about as a contender to pull on the number ten jersey in red.
But while he admits adding to his 16 caps would be a dream come true, it was not a motivating factor in his decision to swap the Bears for the Blue & Blacks.
He said: “Of course, that is the dream, that’s the end goal. But, I’ll be honest, it wasn’t in the forefront of my mind that I wanted to come back to play for Wales.
“It was that I wanted to come back to play for Cardiff. At the same time, if you play well for Cardiff, who knows what will happen. But my main reason was to come back and play for Cardiff, play for my city. And Jockey was a big factor as well.
“When you’ve been anywhere for ten years, it’s a long time, never mind a professional environment.
“I felt like it was the right time for me to move and as soon as I knew there was a chance of joining Cardiff, I was really keen to make it happen.
“Thankfully they wanted me and I wanted to come and it was just a really easy process. I just kind of knew that last season was going to be my last at Bristol. It was a weird feeling. I just felt like I wanted a change, a new environment and to come home makes it extra special.
“I remember coming here with my dad when I was really young. We would always come down the Arms Park, so it’s quite a surreal feeling,” says the international fly-half.
“We train here every day and I get weirdly nervous for training. I’ve never done it before. It’s a really special feeling being back, to be honest. It really does feel like home.”
Sheedy played under Matt Sherratt when he was coming through the ranks and breaking into the Bristol first team.
The Cardiff head coach left a lasting impression on the former Corpus Christi student and he is enjoying the reunion.
He continued: “I have known Jockey for a long time. He hasn’t changed much. His detail is excellent and the way he gets his message across is good.
“He’s got a good balance between having a bit of banter with the boys but then being serious when it’s needed. When he speaks all the boys listen and respect him. He is a good character which is what you need in the dressing room.
“When he was Bristol coach, his philosophy was if it’s on, go for it. It’s exactly the same with him now. There’s a no fear attitude. If it’s on, he will back you 100 per cent to execute. Having that kind of backing from the coach is exactly what you want as a 10.
“Jockey wants me to be a running threat, but also to manage that middle third.
“No fear doesn’t mean let’s be stupid and throw the ball around for no reason just because it’s fun and it’s enjoyable.
“Our two main things which we have talked about in pre-season are enjoying it and fighting. It’s not about sacrificing winning for enjoying. You don’t want to be a team that’s enjoying throwing it round but losing. For me, winning is enjoyable and I think we’ve got to get that mentality across the squad. We need a winning mentality, because winning becomes a habit while losing also becomes a habit.
“But I believe you can win playing nice rugby. Look at Northampton. They played the best rugby in the Premiership last year. They scored the most tries, they made the most linebreaks, they were amazing to watch and they won the league. Glasgow played a nice brand of rugby, so do Toulouse.
“Sarries did it for ten years with a kicking game, but that’s not always the way. We will try and play nice rugby, but also winning rugby, which is just as enjoyable.”
Sheedy will have plenty of competition for the fly-half jersey at the Arms Park with Tinus de Beer enjoying a stellar first season in blue and Black.
That saw the South African win a Players’ Player and Fans’ Player of the Season award double, while Ben Thomas has pulled on the Wales number 10 jersey throughout the summer.
But that competition is something Sheedy hopes will improve standards and drive everyone on.
He added: “First and foremost, I’ve got to compete for the jersey.
“Tinus was outstanding last year. In all the games I watched, he was so consistent. Hopefully we can bring the best out in each other and that’s going to be really good for the team.
“I was actually a prefect at Ben’s school, at Corpus Christi. I was in year 11, he was year 7. I used to look after him. He used to chuck rubbers at my head, so I haven’t forgiven him for that! I will be coming for him!
“Ben is a great player. I am good friends with his brother and I’ve watched him since he was 6, 7 years old. I have always known how good he was. It’s nice to be with him now.
“Competition is great. It’s really healthy. You look across the squad, there’s not one position where it’s not two or three deep. I think it’s really encouraging for Cardiff.”
Sheedy was talking at Summerfest, as Cardiff launched their 2024-25 Macron kit. You can check out the new range HERE.
