You'd never guess it from his voice, but Bryn Bradley only ever dreamt of playing for Wales. Even before he could walk or talk he, along with his older brother Gwilym, was sporting a red jersey.
"Ever since we were born, we knew that we wanted to represent Wales," he told S4C while on duty for the Under 20s at the World Rugby Championships in South Africa. "That was the dream. We had a Welsh shirt and a Welsh ball in the cot from day one."
But while Bradley qualifies through his Newport-born mother, the 20-year-old centre was born and raised in London, playing his rugby for Epsom College and Cobham RFC before joining Harlequins. By his own admission, there's no mistaking his privileged upbringing when he opens his mouth either, with the youngster getting stick from his Welsh teammates about his "posh accent".
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It's all tongue-in-cheek however, and Wales couldn't care less about what he sounds like. After coming through the Exiles programme, Bradley has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting talents in the Under 20s set-up, shining in their opening two games of the World Championships.
While Wales impressed across the board against New Zealand as they came within two points of a famous win - a surprise after a miserable Six Nations whitewash - Bradley was arguably the standout performing. Storming forward from deep time after time, his powerful carries, impressive speed and deft handling were a constant threat to the Junior Blacks, with a well-timed pull back setting up Dan Edwards for Wales' second try.
He caught the eye again versus Japan on Thursday, in what was admittedly a less assured performance from Mark Jones' side who trailed for much of the game thanks to three opposition tries in quick succession. An ever-present throughout the contest, fought out in miserable conditions, Bradley was on hand to set up Archie Hughes for Wales' opener before grabbing a try of his own in the final moments of the match.
These performances have seen him earn comparisons to the great Jamie Roberts, with his bulky 6ft 3in, 16 stone frame reminiscent of the 94-cap international as he thunders through terrified defences, the hopes of a nation planted firmly on his vast shoulders. He's even got the jaw to match.
Such comparisons are likely welcomed by Bradley, who idolised Roberts growing up and has fond memories of travelling up from London to watch Cardiff, the team his brother Gwilym now represents at flanker. With the siblings now both highly thought of within the Welsh game, the 20-year-old admits that their transitions from fans to players is sometimes hard to get his head around.
"Gwilym actually sent me an old photo the other day from when we went to one of the New Years games, Cardiff v Dragons," he said. "We were on the pitch at the end of the game getting photos with all of the players and it’s crazy to think that now he’s in a position to play in one of those games.
"It’s always been a dream, especially watching Wales, watching Jamie Roberts from a young age."
His similarities to Roberts don't simply stem from childhood adoration, however, with the Welsh U20 backs being given a masterclass by the man himself ahead of their trip to South Africa.
"Mark got him in for some unit sessions with the backs and our main focus was our edge defence with him, which obviously he was very good at in his playing days," said Bradely. "So we’ve worked hard on that, being a bit more aggressive on the edge.
"I think we did a bit of that [against New Zealand] but we can always get better at that as well. Him bringing his experience was very valuable to centres, myself and a few others."
Bradley's emergence has come at a time when Wales are rich in midfield options with both Jones and Warren Gatland having almost too much choice when it comes to their inside centre picks. In the senior squad alone, even with Joe Hawkins no longer in the picture, Nick Tompkins, Max Llewellyn and Williams' Johnny and Keiran are all still in the fold for this year's World Cup.
And the Quins man is certainly not the only up-and-coming centre in the Under 20s either, with the midfield partnership of Harri Ackerman and Louie Hennessey one of Wales' few shining lights in that dismal Six Nations campaign. With Ackerman out injured for this summer's tournament, Bradley has filled the 12 shirt incredibly well and credits his success to the healthy competition within the squad.
"I think the reason we have a strong centres performance is because there's a big group of us in the squad," he said. "There's four of us, me, Louis, Westy (Dragons' Joe Westwood) and Flossy (Ospreys' Tom Florence). We're always pushing each other.
"[Me and Louis] are the lucky ones that got the starting shirts, but they’ve been pushing us in training and we’ve been working together as a four."
Wales' midfield conveyor belt is well and truly chugging along again, and Bradley, arguably one of its most exciting recent products, looks set to also make the step up to the senior team before too long.
But he's far from getting carried away. After all, there are still old scores to be settled out in South Africa.
Having been part of the team that suffered the humiliation of an eleven-try, 67-17 defeat at the hands of France earlier this year, Bradley is determined, at the very least, to not let the same thing happen again when the two sides face each other on Tuesday.
It will be some challenge, with Les Bleus in typically ruthless form this summer, dispatching Japan 75-12 in their World Championship opener before overpowering New Zealand 35-14 on Thursday.
But buoyed by their performance against the Junior Blacks and with confidence higher than ever under Jones' leadership, Wales and Bradley are fuelled by belief that they can upset the odds in their final pool game.
"I think we knew we were the better team [against New Zealand]," he said. "We had a plan and we executed it pretty well. It was a shame that we didn’t get the rewards that we set out to get, but the improvement from the Six Nations was big, so that’s the main thing that we’re pleased about.
"That day down in Oyonnax [against France] back in the Six Nations was pretty painful, so we’ll have extra motivation I think. But because of the New Zealand game we can have that confidence. With Mark coming in as well, we definitely believe we can win that game."
