Leon Pryce features in episode 7 of Sky Sports' My Icon series
Friday 6 October 2017 17:56, UK
Former Great Britain and England half-back Leon Pryce has called for more diversity across rugby league and sport in general.
Mentored and guided through the sport by his father, who introduced him to the game at the age of eight, Pryce made his rugby league debut for Bradford as a 16-year-old.
A glittering career saw him also play for St Helens, Catalans Dragons and Hull, winning four Super Leagues, five Challenge Cups and three World Club Championships along the way.
His breakthrough was down to graft, ability and determination, and Pryce says tomorrow's top talent must maintain self-belief, insisting "if you're good enough you're old enough."
Pryce's enforced retirement from the game this year due to a knee injury triggered a breakdown, an episode which the 35-year-old freely admits was "very difficult".
But Pryce wants his playing legacy to inspire the next generation and hopes that will lead to greater diversity in the upper echelons of rugby league.
"I think we need to be a little more diverse," he says in the latest instalment of My Icon.
"I see it on the field, on the track, and in the ring. We see them (black people) performing but you don't really see them in the studio or being managers or being in places of power in the public eye.
"What I can do is make sure I'm a positive figure and a role model so that kids - who are maybe of the same ethnicity - can think 'if he can do it then so can I', and give it a go."
Pryce talks about his journey in the latest instalment of My Icon, which premieres on Saturday at at 7am on Sky Sports Mix and is available On Demand. The episode is repeated on Saturday at 1pm, 5.45pm, 10pm.
Coinciding with Black History Month, Sky Sports' #MyIcon campaign brings you 31 exclusive interviews with top BAME sports personalities across the month of October. For more information click here.
