'All worth it now': How Latrell battled homesickness and a kick up the butt from Dad to claim World Cup glory

MANCHESTER – Latrell Mitchell cut an emotional figure in the sheds after Australia’s win over Samoa, revealing to media that he had dreamed that he would win the World Cup the night before.

“I’m speechless,” said the Souths fullback, who opened and closed the scoring in Kangaroos’ 30-10 victory.

“I actually dreamt about this moment last night, it woke me up out of my sleep. If you didn’t have dreams, you wouldn’t be able to achieve them and I’ve followed mine. We set out to bring the trophy home six or seven weeks ago and it’s surreal.”

After a long season in Sydney, Mitchell – always a homebird – had his heart set on spending his downtime with his family on his farm, and was on the brink of turning down a call-up to the Kangaroos until a phone call from Mal Meninga convinced him to come on the tour.

(Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)

“I’m just a country boy from Taree,” he said, choking back tears.

“My dad always gave me a kick up the arse at the age of 15 to be able to move out of Taree and achieve something, to be someone. I think I’ve been able to do that.

“I’ve left my two kids, I just want to get back to the farm and see them. It’s all worth it now, I get to hold a trophy, I get to hold a medal, I get to have that jersey hanging up on my wall and look at it 15 years down the track and be really proud of the bunch of blokes I got to call brothers. I could retire a happy man.”

Mitchell saved his best performance for last, with a dual rev-up coming from the honour of playing at Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground, and a little extra spice in the siva tau from Samoan prop Spencer Leniu.

“They are a very passionate mob and when they do their war cry it’s something very special,” said Mitchell. “I think Spencer Leniu actually got in my face and that poked the bear a little bit.

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“It switched me on from the kick-off and I knew I was ready for a game, I took some tough carries which I don’t usually do in my game. All in all, I’m very emotional but in a good way.

“Cristiano Ronaldo is such a well-known athlete because of who he is and for us to be the main attraction is a special moment I’ll hold close to my heart for the rest of my life.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to tick off as a young fella. I’ve done a few other things in the game but this is number one for me and I’m grateful for the opportunity.”