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.
Later, Dragons coach Dean Ryan went out of his way to name-check Fry, saying: “Ben looked the part. If you are an experienced international on the other team there is nothing worse than having a hungry 21-year-old on the opposite side.
“Ross Moriarty was physical and if you put those two together then they are a pain in the backside, and that’s what you want back rowers to be.”
There was more of the same from Fry in a development game against the Scarlets earlier this season, with the Dragon getting in Wales Grand Slam winner Rob Evans’ face at every opportunity.
But perhaps his best performance for the Dragons came against Leinster last term. The Irish province won the match in Newport, but the hosts pushed them hard with their openside on the day piling up 20 tackles, achieving four turnovers and making a dozen carries.
Ryan is a fan and last weekend started Fry ahead of Wales forward Taine Basham, albeit Basham began the week before. Fry responded to his inclusion in the run-on side with a typically combative performance.
Ex-Wales forward Andrew Coombs, who worked on the game for the BBC, has been impressed by the fair-haired player. “Ben is playing some really good rugby,” said Coombs.
“He’s one of the best at the Dragons, which is a big thing to say because they’re all so good in the back row there.
“What he gives you is aggression in abundance and he doesn’t feel anything, which is among his greatest strengths.
“Any of the coaches at the Dragons will say the same about him. He’s just a full-on player who doesn’t hold back. In the past, maybe it’s caused one or two discipline issues for him, but he’s learned to control his aggression a lot better.
“I just think he’s class. He’s exactly what a team needs, a hundred percenter who’s aggressive on both sides of the ball and has an all-round confrontational game that’s top-drawer.”
“If I’m honest, I think he potentially will get capped. For me, it’s just a matter of time.”
How long are we talking about? Would Coombs, for instance, be comfortable seeing Fry in Wayne Pivac’s squad for the tour to South Africa this summer?
The answer isn't framed in the negative.
“He’s the type of player you’d want to take to South Africa,” comes the reply.
“Ben is intense, he’s fast, he plays the game at a good pace. South Africa carry a lot of aggressive men themselves.
“It’s a tough one and all coaches would look at it differently, but if I was coaching and I was going to South Africa I’d want someone of his nature in my team.”
In Fry’s favour is the fine form he showed on tour with the Dragons in South Africa recently, notably against the Bulls, when he refused to back down. “That’s his character,” said Coombs. “It doesn’t matter who he plays.
“His game is potentially basic but really effective.
“I like players like him. Every team needs a player of his nature who’ll just perform week-in, week-out with a game that’s based on being a hard-man, being aggressive and trying to dominate the opposition.
“I’ve seen him pick up a few yellow cards and give away a few silly penalties, but he’s matured and has learned to control his aggression and physicality, presumably because he’s realised it can get you on the wrong side of the law sometimes. Once you learn to do that, playing his type of game, you are on your way.
“I wouldn’t read too much into Ben starting and Taine being on the bench last weekend. When a coach is blessed with that many good players in one area, it’s good to mix it up and keep the opposition guessing. The Scarlets would have seen Taine the week before, and preparing for Ben’s a bit different.
“For me, Dean Ryan is trying to have a healthy squad with strength in depth. It shows the trust he has in Ben as well.”
Fry still has the odd rough edge or two — he coughed up a penalty at an important stage against the Scarlets last weekend — and he’ll know there are countless other quality back-row options available to Pivac.
But the fiery Dragons academy graduate has done his cause no harm at all this season.
He is a player who always reports for duty, no matter what the opposition.
Expect his list of admirers to keep growing.
