The aggressive, confrontational 'pain in the backside' now tipped to play for Wales in South Africa

You wouldn’t call Ben Fry a smooth operator. Indeed, the young Dragons back rower is as abrasive as a piece of 40-grit sandpaper.

“He doesn’t flinch on a rugby field,” one former Wales international said of the 23-year-old to WalesOnline this week. “He tackles anything that moves and is into everything around the field. He’s old school in so many ways, and none the worse for it.”

Fry is one to watch. He hasn’t featured in a Wales squad yet but he is a player on the up.

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He is physical, aggressive and plays on the edge, as all good opensides do. Sometimes he can get on the wrong side of referees and occasionally he riles opponents: when the Dragons played the Bulls last month the Radyr product was pinged for illegal play and seconds later found himself confronted by a giant opposition forward who was in anything but friendly mode as he shoved Fry hard in the chest.

If he thought the Welsh youngster would take flight while waving a white flag, he was quickly made to think again as the Dragon bristled back, seemingly unconcerned about the serious height and weight differential at play.

Nor is the former Wales U20s player fazed by reputations, a fact that was evident when he made his first Dragons start in the league, against the Ospreys in Swansea in 2020. The hosts had Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric in their pack, but the kid in the opposition No. 6 jersey wasn’t prepared to sit back and let the pair do as they pleased. Apparently, Fry didn’t stop talking all game and he provided deeds to go with the words, starting with a punchy carry after just 14 seconds and making 17 tackles over the course of the 80 minutes. You can read more about that performance here.