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Australian Test winger Josh Addo-Carr says he dreams of the Kangaroos adopting a pre-game Indigenous challenge akin to the haka.
Addo-Carr, Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton are the three Indigenous players named in Mal Meninga’s squad for their Sunday (AEDT) Rugby League World Cup opener against Fiji in Leeds.
The trio have been part of the NRL’s pre-season Indigenous All Stars side where a traditional war cry has been performed in response to the Maori team’s haka.
New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga and the Cook Islands will all have traditional pre-game performances at this year’s tournament but Australia – the largest country in the Pacific region – will not.
Former NRL player Dean Widders has used his profile to call for the introduction of a pre-game challenge before every Kangaroos Test.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Addo-Carr was the subject of one of the most-memorable images of the 2020 season during the All Stars dance.
He paid tribute to former AFL player Nicky Winmar by lifting his playing shirt and pointing to his skin during the performance, and said he would welcome an Indigenous challenge becoming a permanent fixture in the Kangaroos’ pre-game ritual.
“It would be really good for everyone to buy into,” he told AAP.
“The All Blacks do it even though they are not all Maori. Me, Latrell and Jackie would love it.
“There’s things we can do to modify it for some of the boys that don’t know how to dance, there’s a lot we can do so everyone is a part of it.”
Addo-Carr was keen to stress he would have no issue with the Kangaroos’ non-Indigenous players participating.
“We’re all Australian and that’s what this is all about, togetherness,” he said.
“That’s what my culture is about; respect. It would be mad to have it, we could get some elders in and some professional dancers to help create something special.”
Addo-Carr’s Australia recall means he is in line to play representative football for the first time since 2021.
Overlooked by NSW State of Origin coach Brad Fittler this year, his form in a resurgent Canterbury side has led to him returning to Meninga’s set-up for the tournament in England.
But rather than celebrate his own inclusion for the Kangaroos, the 27-year-old said he was delighted for Bulldogs teammate and uncapped international Matt Burton.
“I was more excited for him, given it was his first year at the Dogs and as a five-eighth,” Addo-Carr said.
“I knew our combination was going to be special. It would just take some time.
“We have to thank our (Bulldogs) teammates for helping us get here.
“It goes to show the Bulldogs are on the up and shows the competition that you can go to a club that’s struggling and you can still have some success.”
Lebanon coach Michael Cheika could be faced with a scheduling dilemma if the Cedars make it out of the group stage – as his other job, as coach of the Argentina Pumas rugby union team, sees him set to face off against England on the same weekend as a potential quarter final.
Cheika’s Lebanon team are in a group with New Zealand, Ireland and Jamaica, giving them a real chance of qualification with their second game, against Ireland, set to be a make-or-break tie. Both teams will likely beat Jamaica but lose to the Kiwis.
Should they win that, Lebanon would be odds on to run into Australia in the quarters – just two days before his Argentina are scheduled to play an Autumn International against England at Twickenham.
“At this stage, all those things are prioritised by games, so whichever game is first goes first,” Cheika told PA at the World Cup launch overnight in Manchester.
“I’ll be honest, I haven’t even looked at dates because one thing I’ve learned about World Cups is that you should not look forward, you should only look right in front of you. If you start thinking about what’s down the road, you’ll get caught out.”
Kangaroos star Latrell Mitchell has revealed how he almost didn’t make it to the World Cup at all. Speaking to Channel 9, the Bunnies fullback said that he missed home and his kids after being in Sydney for finals and wanted to get back to his farm in Taree, but a late phone call from coach Mal Meninga convinced him to travel to England for the long tour.
“I was just thinking about the kids and just going back to my farm, to be honest,” he said.
“It was a long year, I’ve had a pretty up-and-down, rollercoaster of a season. I was sort of contemplating.
“But big Mal gave me a call, and I just knew that it was something I wanted to be a part of. It was definitely hard getting on the plane and cruising, because I like staying on the land.”
England captain Sam Tomkins has reacted with confusion after being confronted with tweets from Bulldogs supremo Phil ‘Gus’ Gould at the World Cup launch.
Gould had tweeted that ‘England can’t beat Samoa’ last week, but the former Warriors fullback and multiple Man of Steel winner told local news in the UK that he didn’t know who Gould was.
Once he ascertained who the Channel 9 commentator was, Tomkins was dismissive of his opinion.
“Ah right, I don’t care what he thinks, it’s nothing to do with me, he can think what he wants,” he said.
“The NRL is a stronger competition than we’ve got here so that’s what they base it on and you can understand why they think that, it’s water off a duck’s back.”
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