As a young player you probably do not realise the opportunities you get in
sport. Sometimes it is too late, and they pass you by. But now, at the age
of 33, I have no doubt that this will be my last World Cup. They do not come
around that often, particularly in rugby league!
It has not always been rosy for me, which is part of the sacrifice. Nobody has
a completely smooth ride in international sport. By the time the 2000 World
Cup arrived, I had just turned 20. In fact I am the only player left from
that World Cup. Although I was desperate to play, I certainly understood why
I did not.
In 2008 in Australia – there was no World Cup in 2004 – I played in the group
games, then was left out of the semi-final. It was probably one of the
lowest points of my career. I had been away from my wife and kids for 4½
weeks.
My seven-month-old son was poorly in hospital. My mum and dad had just flown
out to come and watch the semi-final. And I got dropped. They had come all
that way, and I felt like I had let them down.
During that period I questioned whether it was the right thing to carry on.
Until 2009, I was in and out of the side. Because of the position I play, at
stand-off, there has always been a lot of competition, and for a long time
coaches wanted a particular job description that, because of my build, I
have not been able to deliver.
But like I said, that is part of the sacrifice. When you face adversity, you
keep getting up off the canvas.
Thankfully, I stuck with it.
That 2008 World Cup was a huge opportunity wasted for us. There were rumours
of a rift in the camp, and if you talk to different members of the squad
they would probably tell you different things.
From my point of view, there was nothing particularly acrimonious. We had just
not spent enough time together. Lads will always sit and mingle with people
they are comfortable with. And so people sat in their clubs.
That does not mean there was dislike, but things that needed to be addressed
were left. As a group, we were not honest enough.
Now, the culture is totally different. And it had to be if we wanted to make
strides. Over the past three years we have had a lot of camps at
Loughborough, where we come down for two or three days at a time.
When you are trying to pull a team together, the only way you can do it is by
spending time together. You can do all the team bonding activities you want
– whitewater rafting, paintballing – but ultimately it is about spending
time with each other, whether by sitting and chatting over the dinner table
or having a cup of coffee in between sessions.
We have been able to do that, and that is why I am confident after last
weekend, when we lost to Italy in a warm-up game in Salford.
Even if things go terribly wrong against Australia on Saturday, I am still
confident that this group will stay united and do everything they possibly
can to be at Old Trafford at the end of next month for the World Cup final.
I am studying for a Masters in sports business, and I am doing a module on
leadership at the moment. Recently I have been reading about the adventures
of Ernest Shackleton, the polar explorer who led three British expeditions
to the Antarctic.
Although we are in completely different circumstances here, we can certainly
take strength from how he and his crew dealt with what they had to face. The
group are strong.
And the interest now is huge. This is only the eighth World Cup we have ever
had in this country, in any sport. So all I would say to those who don’t
usually follow rugby league is to keep an open mind. If you like watching
high-level competitive sport, if you like watching athletes take their body
to the limit, give it a go. I am sure you will not regret it.
Article source: http://www.express.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/438471/Lions-skipper-Sam-Warburton-reinstated-as-Wales-captain-for-November-Tests
Rugby League World Cup 2013: leading England against Australia will be ...
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