Latrell Mitchell can’t help but marvel at Mal Meninga’s international legacy as he walks the streets of Manchester, rugby league’s biggest personality surprisingly small fry in a nation of 56 million.
“He walks down the street and everyone wants a photo with him!” Mitchell says. “I get one or two Aussies here and there, and that’s it.”
Mitchell appreciates the relative peace and quiet after a year of headlines and hype no one else in the game can generate. But with a pair of premierships, NSW Origin series wins and nearing 150 NRL games all before his 26th birthday, Mitchell has a daily reminder of the glaring gap in his rugby league resume – largely through no fault of his own.
The Kangaroos team room at their hotel has been transformed into a mini museum of sorts, with an honour roll acknowledging the green and gold greats of the past and what it takes to join them. Mitchell, with five Tests to his name, wants in.
“I was saying to Mal, ‘I should have 15 Tests by now!’ You see all the fellas up on the board, Darren Lockyer at 59 [appearances],” Mitchell says.
“You want to be there on that board. It’s just the way the world went but hopefully the NRL and World Cup and international footy can be strong and I’ll get a few more [Tests] under my belt.
“I’ve got five more years until I’m 30. I might tick on after that, who knows. Everything’s on that wall. Our responsibilities, our care factor and all our legends as well.
“And I definitely want to be one of those legends, I want to be up there and obviously have my name so that the next generation can see what I’ve achieved.
“I know everyone else wants to be doing the same, that’s why it’s so great being in this team, everyone’s striving for that.”
Meninga looms larger than arguably any Kangaroo in history, with 46 Tests and records as both the only four-time Ashes tourist and captain on more than one English trip. On British soil, there is no argument.
Latrell Mitchell scores his first try for Australia.Credit:NRL Photos
Meninga is remembered remarkably fondly – a Daily Mirror column last week paying affectionate tribute to his legacy and the eyebrows that “looked like he had borrowed them from the giant slug section at Taronga Zoo”.
A final pool game at Meninga’s old St Helens stomping ground will see Australian players wander past the mural painted in the Queenslander’s honour at Totally Wicked Stadium – even though Meninga only played the 1984/85 season for the club, one of those four broken arms scuppering a planned return a few years later.
The way Mitchell speaks when “Big Mal” is mentioned, he could easily be one of those old Saints supporters.
“When he walks in, you’re listening,” Mitchell says. “Dad spoke about him and I’ve only heard good things about the way he has played, the way he has been able to conduct himself.
Mal Meninga alongside the mural in his honour at St Helens in 2013.Credit:St Helens RLFC
“[It’s no] wonder why he is the Australian coach, and you see what he’s done with Queensland and the legacy he left there. I’m definitely grateful to be under him and learn a lot from him. I know there’s similarities there and it’s great to be able to have conversations and soak a lot of things up.”
Meninga’s own lessons learned on those tours of yesteryear – when trips started in the first week of October, featured 22 games and ran right up to Christmas – have been appreciated especially by his star centre.
A homebody at heart, Mitchell had considered sitting out the World Cup given the hectic year and cows to tend on his mid-north coast property, Winmarra.
The six-week tour is the longest he has ever been away from his family. Meninga knows better than most how to manage the separation anxiety.
Weekend fixtures (all times AEDT)
- Saturday: New Zealand v Ireland (5.30am)
- Sunday: England v Greece (12.30am), Fiji v Scotland (3am), Australia v Italy (5.30am), Lebanon v Jamaica (11pm)
- Monday: Tonga v Cook Islands (1.30am)
Already the post-game Fijian prayer circle that moved Mitchell to tears, that Kangaroos honour board and pointed nods to Indigenous culture in Australia’s team uniform are making it more than worth it.
There’s distinct gratitude from one big centre to the other given Meninga’s call convinced Mitchell to saddle up – even if it only took a few moments thought when the enquiry did come down the line.
“I’m very culturally connected and being able to see everyone else’s culture, get over here and see what it’s all about… it’s beautiful to see,” Mitchell says.
“We don’t call them team meetings anymore, we call it team chat. Mal just loves to talk about how people feel, and obviously we’re all away from home or missing family. He steers that ship, he’s a big man.
“I’ve been able to have a great relationship with him. I’ve grown to be able to talk to people. Anything I’ve got on my chest I can say to him and the same to him. It’s been really enjoyable.”
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