Free The Hardest Test by Scott Quinnell Page B

their eldest son, who had been so full of confidence, was becoming increasingly withdrawn. I used to ask to go to friends’ birthday parties, only to quickly change my mind when we arrived, and have to be dragged in by my mother, and then leave soon after. My learning difficulties were now affecting every aspect of my life.
    At fourteen my problems were getting out of control. I’d get increasingly frustrated with myself and got into a fair bit of trouble – if I could get kicked out of a lesson or miss one completely, all the better. I once even punched a friend after a minor argument, breaking his eye-socket in the process. Something had to give.
    Despite all this, my parents were brilliant, spending lots time with me while I was doing my homework and trying different tutors to help me along. They looked at every possibility. When they saw that their efforts produced little improvement in school they started questioning themselves, as well as the credibility of the (very many) tutors in the Llanelli area who were assigned the huge challenge of improving my grades!
    As my father has since said, “We knew he wasn’t twp or dull, but it was frustrating.”
    I was pretty sharp when it came to things like sport but a complete failure academically.
    Eventually my parents came to what I suppose, looking back, was a natural conclusion – that it was the sport, particularly the rugby (which by that time I had begun to get heavily involved in) which was to blame.
    They imposed the ultimate penalty on me, stopping me playing rugby at Under 15 level – it turned out to be the only level I didn’t play at.
    I was devastated. By this time, rugby was all I really wanted to do and although I saw the importance of education I found it impossible. Everything seemed to be against me.
    Thank goodness the ban didn’t last for long!

Chapter Three
    What’s in a name? I was born Leon Scott Quinnell on 20 August 1972 in Morriston Hospital, Swansea – the wrong side of Loughor bridge as far as my family and future were concerned ( though I’m told I was quickly rushed over to the Llanelli side in order to take my first breath! ).
    My father Derek had been a three-times British Lion as well as a Welsh international, and he had the honour of being the only player in the Lions squad not to have already been capped by his country when he went on the tour to New Zealand in 1971. My uncle is Wales and Lions legend Barry John and my godfather Mervyn Davies also pulled on both the Wales and Lions jerseys. (No pressure on me then, whilst growing up, to pick up the oval ball!)
    Rugby did seem to be everywhere, even with my mother – she’d become a massive fan of the game after years of following her brother, Barry, and of course my father. My two youngest brothers, Craig and Gavin, followed us into the game as well, becoming professionals in their own right. So it’s not hard to imagine what the topic of conversation was around the dinner table when we were growing up!
    At the age of eight, I began showing an interest in the game which would eventually become my life. I asked my father to take me down to Stradey Park, Llanelli, to play for the U11s.
    It might sound surprising, but up to then I hadn’t really sat down to watch a game of rugby, not even to watch my father. I know now that my learning difficulties meant I didn’t have the attention span to watch a whole match. In honesty I’m still not one for watching the game, though watching the game is now what pays the bills!
    I recall my father being away a lot playing rugby when we were young. In 1977 he was on tour in New Zealand for three and a half months and again in South Africa for the same amount of time in 1980.
    As well as our good friends in Five Roads, we were lucky to have Nan and Granddad next door to us, which must have really been a help for my mother when Dad was away. It was great to have an extended family right