Huw Worthington is hoping to win his first ever Welsh cap when Wales take on Jamaica at The Lextan Gnoll in Neath on Tuesday 15 October (kick-off 7.30pm).
The 29-year old is a relative newcomer to rugby league, but has a whirlwind introduction to the sport having only picked up a rugby league ball two and a half years ago, being on the books of Sydney Roosters and Leeds Rhinos before playing this past season with Whitehaven.
The native Welsh speaker decided during the recent Covid-19 pandemic that he wanted to play rugby league, so he thought that Australia would be the best place for him to learn.
“I was wanting to play league for some time,” he said. “But I didn’t actually know anyone who played the game so I didn’t have anyone to talk about it. During Covid, I really got into watching it and as soon as the borders to Australia opened, I went down there to learn how to play rugby league.
“I moved to Sydney in 2022 and played for the Glebe Dirty Reds, who had just won the Ron Massey Cup, a third-tier competition in Australia. I was playing in the front row with New Zealand international Greg Eastwood, who played nearly 300 NRL and international games and Ethan Natoli, who played for London Broncos and Italy, so we had a really good team. I came in halfway through the season and I learned a lot.
“From there, I was signed for Sydney Roosters and played in their NSW Cup side. I did a pre-season with them in 2023 and played the first couple of games for them. I injured my NCL so I was out for a month, but I was having visa issues and my partner’s dad wasn’t well so we decided to leave early.
“But that’s how it went from zero to a hundred pretty quickly. When I came back in the middle of 2023, I signed for Leeds Rhinos. I didn’t make the first team there but did play on loan at Widnes Vikings and spent this season with Whitehaven.
“I don’t think I’ve been completely quite rugby league fit enough, but this season at Whitehaven has certainly helped me. I’ve been playing about 60 minutes in the middle every week pretty consistently, so being there has been very beneficial for me. I’ve learned a lot, it’s been tough at times but I’ve really enjoyed playing there.”
Worthington has travelled around with rugby union as well as league. He made two appearances for the Dragons in Newport, played for the Crawshays on a wet night in Oxford, and also played in the English Championship for five years, turning out for Bedford Blues and Richmond.
But he started off in North Wales with RGC 1404, going through their youth system, then playing over 100 games in their first team in both the WRU Championship and Premiership, and he remembers a trip to The Lextan Gnoll in his first season in the senior side.
“We beat Neath at The Gnoll in the Cup in 2015,” he said. “We were in the league below Neath at the time, so that was a big deal and a big part of the club’s history. It’s a great ground to play at, I’ve played there a few times now and the atmosphere is always really good as the locals always get behind whoever it playing there. Hopefully, I’ll have a few friends and family down to watch too.
“As soon as I decided to play rugby league, a Welsh cap was my goal. I didn’t ever know how far away I was from doing that, but to represent Wales would be massive for me. Welsh is my first language, it’s always been my home so playing for Wales would be a dream come true.”
Wales’ match against Jamaica is an important warm-up for the side before they take on Serbia a week later. A win there will give them a match against France or Ukraine for a place in 2025’s World Series alongside Jamaica, South Africa and Cook Islands, with the top two from that competition heading to Australia in 2026’s Rugby League World Cup.
“The aim for us to win all of our games this month and get through to that next stage of qualification,” Worthington said. “I’ve seen the players who are in the squad, I’ve played against a lot of them and there’s some pretty high quality players there, so there’s no reason why we can’t win.”
To buy tickets or hospitality and support Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospital Charity in the process, visit our ticketing homepage.
