LEEDS – Josh Mansour knows a coach when he sees one. He’s worked under Ivan Cleary and Wayne Bennett at Penrith and Souths respectively, plus Mal Meninga at the last World Cup with the Kangaroos.
And according to the Souths star, his national coach Michael Cheika is right up with the best of them. He’ll have to be this week, with Lebanon set to take on the hardest task in footy, facing the Kangaroos in a World Cup quarter-final on Friday night (Saturday morning AEDT) followed immediately by his other gig, Argentina, due to play England at Twickenham less than a day later.
“Chek is in that conversation,” he told The Roar. “He’s done the biggest things in rugby union, at the very top, and there’s no reason why he can’t do that in rugby league. He’s doing great things for Lebanon.
“Chek is right at the top for me personally. He’s like Bennett with his man-managing skills. He’s great at communicating with players and knowing when to bring us up and knowing when to get us focused. He really narrows on our objectives for a week.
“He values the minor details. Especially coming from union, the ruck is so important and he’s taken on a hands-on role there. But the biggest thing is our mindset: how we approach training, how we approach every game. He’s been unreal that regard.
“He’s done so well in the union world and has such a big reputation that everyone really listens and values what he said. If he was to take a more hands on approach in the NRL, he’d do a fantastic job.
“Everyone wrote us off about progressing through the group stages with New Zealand and Ireland, but the thing about being Lebanese that Chek has been pushing is that we’re always the underdog. If you give us a smidge of belief, and if we believe in each other, we’re so much more powerful.”
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Cheika is leaning heavily on his assistants, which for the Cedars, means Roosters assistant coach Matt King and Lebanese living legend Robbie Farah.
“They mesh because Kingy is so calm and collected and Chek is so inspirational in the way he talks and gets you up. He can get hot-headed and aggressive – typical Lebanese! – but very emotional and passionate.
“Then you throw Robbie Farah as well who has done everything in the rugby league world and has a great skillbase and attacking mind. It’s the Holy Trinity.”
(Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images for RLWC)
Cheika’s two teams met last week for a dinner – Lebanese food, of course – which Mansour described glowingly in terms of where rugby league can progress to as a sport.
“Everyone was a bit shy at first,” he said of the meeting. “They’re big boys, especially compared to us. It was so cool to be able to mix and match with those guys and rub shoulders to learn their experiences.
“Rugby union has such a great international game and with rugby league, we’re just getting to that. They’re a few strides ahead of us so I’m a bit jealous in that regard.
“It’s pretty cool with Chek being coach for the Argie boys as well. He’s got so much energy, I don’t know how he finds the time.”
Mansour, who won the World Cup with Australia in 2017, is one of the leading lights for Lebanon, and is adapting to his new role as an elder statesman in the team.
“I wouldn’t say I’m a culture leader, but I am pushing a lot of team activities and team rules around the camp,” said the Souths winger. “I don’t see myself as 32 years old, but then I am rooming with another oldie, Reece Robinson, who’s 33!
“It’s a new role for me and something that I’m relishing, I love giving experience to the young guys and steering them along. I get asked a lot of questions by the young fellas. I would love to see more of us Lebanese boys playing either Super League or NRL.
“It throws me off – the guys show me photos from a few years back with them when they were younger. I was taken aback by it, to be honest, because I don’t look at myself as a hero, I look at myself as a normal person.
“When they say they looked up to me, it’s pretty special. But now, I want to be a good mate and a good teammate. It’s weird feeling like a hero.”
The Cedars are here to win, he says, but have a purpose that goes far beyond just rugby league.
“The best thing about this camp is that we’re one, we’re going for the same goal and that’s what makes it special,” said Mansour.
“There’s a lot of political and religious differences in Lebanon but what we want to push is that we’re united. That’s such a powerful message for us and all Lebanese around the world.
“What we’re trying to do isn’t for us. It’s for a greater cause, and that’s to grow rugby league back home. We know what challenges they face back home.
“We’ve got a few boys from Lebanon that played domestically in our squad, and I ask so many questions about like over there and rugby league over there. They’re faced with so many challenges, but if we can get a great campaign over here, and push rugby league in Lebanon, it’ll go a long way.
“We’re here to win football games, but we’re also here to push positive messages.”
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