Hugh MacDonald
IT may be insensitive to describe Glenn Bryce’s career as a series of ups with the odd down.
The Glasgow Warriors full-back, after all, has just been diagnosed with a broken ankle and ligament damage and will be out of action for anything up to 10 weeks. But the ups have been more consistent and one particularly escalation gives a glimpse into the will and spirit of a 24-year-old who is determined to tackle any flaw, any vulnerability that faces him in life and rugby.
“I have overcome a great fear,” he says softly. “I could not go on lifts for years. I was really claustrophobic. I went to see somebody about it, somebody outside rugby, because I was getting so nervous. I felt overcoming that has helped with my career.”
Bryce sealed his recovery from this phobia with a trip in the summer to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai where he took a lift to the top of the 2722ft structure and toasted his achievement with champagne.
“The problem was becoming deep-set,” he says. “I was avoiding lifts at all times. I said to myself: ‘You need to get over this. You are over-thinking’.”
His banishment of this fear has also, he feels, aided him on the rugby pitch. “There is no doubt it has helped my confidence. I feel problems are there to be overcome,” says the back who has progressed from Heriots, through Jersey and Doncaster, to a professional contract with the Rabo Direct title holders.
It is a curious insight in the human condition that the robust Bryce can face with faith the intense physical challenges that professional rugby presents while struggling with a phobia. Most of humanity would rightly quail at a confrontation with, for example, Aurelien Rougerie, 6ft4ins and 17 stones of brutal belligerence.
“I faced him in pre-season when we played Clermont,” says Bryce. “I was playing 13 and was up against him. He is a big man. But then I thought: ‘He is just a normal human being. I can handle this’. The most important thing was that I backed myself. From that moment, I felt I really kicked on.”
His progress has been marked by the award of Warrior of the Summer, sponsored by McCrea Financial Services, and chosen by coaching staff. “This another level of playing and coaching,” he says. “Everything is faster, physically and mentally. I am training with British Lions so the bar is there. But I believe I have become a lot sharper working with Gregor [Townsend, head coach]. I feel my passing is crisper and my game management and decision-making is improving. He does not overload me, but he helps with my confidence.”
The injury has stalled Bryce’s ambition to take advantage of 21 Warriors’ players being at the World Cup. This cadre includes his brother, Kevin, a hooker who has also made swift progress since coming into the professional ranks.
Bryce, who has played under-20 and sevens for Scotland, is watching his sibling with excitement and admits he would love to make a similar step-up. He accepts the difficulty of rising to the highest level but do not expect him to be constrained by vertigo.
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