Rugby League World Cup: Australia's Josh Addo-Carr on 'turning life around'
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Meet Josh Addo-Carr, the Rugby League World Cup's new star
Rugby League World Cup 2021 |
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Hosts: England Dates: 15 October to 19 November |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, BBC iPlayer and online; Live commentary on Radio 5 Live and Sports Extra; Live texts and highlights on BBC Sport website & app |
One week into the Rugby League World Cup, already a star has emerged.
Josh Addo-Carr - the quickest player in Australia's NRL - scored four tries in Australia's dazzling 84-0 win over Scotland on Friday, adding to the two he ran in against Fiji in his side's 42-8 victory in their opening group fixture.
The 27-year-old winger has looked unstoppable.
But it was so nearly so different.
"I had a little girl, Shakirah. I was 16 when I had her and it sort of turned my life around," he told BBC Sport.
"I had dropped out of school; I was 15 or 16 at this point. I was couch-surfing and that sort of stuff.
"I got in trouble with the law at the time and it was definitely a wake-up call being in that situation because before that I thought I was invincible.
"[My daughter's birth] was probably the turning point.
"I literally had to start from rock bottom in terms of trying to make a representative team. I signed up online and got an opportunity to trial for a team and now I'm here, in a World Cup.
"Never in a million years I thought I'd put the Australian jersey on."
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Addo-Carr made his NRL debut for Wests Tigers in 2016 before switching to Melbourne Storm in 2017, with whom he won two NRL Grand Finals.
Now at Canterbury Bulldogs, he introduced himself at this year's World Cup with a striking length-of-the-field try 24 minutes into his side's match with Fiji.
It was a breakthrough moment for the man nicknamed "The Foxx" who "loves being around people" but "gets quite lonely" around himself.
"I'm one of 13, I was so blessed to have a massive family," he said. "I think that's why I hate being alone because I'm just around family non-stop.
"I grew up in Sydney and we moved around a lot when I was a kid. My mum always used to take me to my footy games.
"Anything to do with sport, I'd give it a red-hot crack.
"School wasn't for me. I wasn't the type of person to sit in front of a chalkboard or whiteboard and concentrate."
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Addo-Carr is the grandson of Australian former boxer Wally Carr.
"He had over 101 professional fights," Addo-Carr added. "He set a benchmark for myself and my family and I'm just trying to follow in his footsteps and inspire young indigenous kids.
"I want to make my grandfather proud, obviously, I want to make my family proud. I want to make Australia proud to be honest. I just want to put a smile on peoples faces back home."
Addo-Carr's Australia face Italy in their final Group B match at 19:30 BST on Saturday, 29 October.
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