McCARTHY BOLSTERS THE IRISH RANKS

Long-Serving Irish International Tyrone McCarthy, Outlines His Perception On Their Bid For World Cup Progress
Although he was born less than fifteen miles away from the A J Bell, in Warrington, our most recent signing, Tyrone McCarthy comes from a line of Irish predecessors on his father’s side, which is how he comes to qualify to be a part of the Irish squad for the coming World Cup Competition, though in fact he had grown up fully determined to become an English international.
When it came to making the decision on which way to jump, however, those extremely strong Irish ties held sway, and he opted first to join Ireland’s Students International side.  His decision to do so brought even greater reward, in 2009, when he was selected to make his full international debut for a career which looks all set to continue, in three weeks’ time.
Not that this will be his first involvement in a World Cup Series, having already taken part in the home 2013 competition.  On that occasion, having been included in Group 1 alongside England, Australia, and Fiji, it is little wonder that they went into it fully aware that they were the underdogs, and, in the event, that is how it transpired.  Realistically, they knew they had to win their first fixture against Fiji, to avoid the wooden spoon, and unfortunately things did not go to plan, in that respect.
Having, now, the chance of a second bite at the cherry, Tyrone is, understandably, extremely pleased to be involved, once more.
“There is something really special about the World Cup,” he enthuses.  “It’s all the top quality players you meet and come up against, which gives you such special memories.”
The fact that the tournament, this time round, is taking place in Australia, is of particular excitement to him, as he spent the 2014 season playing in Queensland with Northern Pride RLFC, and then returned down under, in 2016, to play for St George Illawarra through to July this year, when he joined us here at the A J Bell.
“It will be all the more special, being in Australia,” he continues, “and with it not being long since I came back from there.
“Going back to Cairns, to play at Barlow Park again, against Italy, will be absolutely great, and in fact there are a number of Northern Pride players in the Italian team, who I shall enjoy meeting up with again, and possibly playing against.
Tyrone’s backward and forwards coming and goings have left his family here utterly bemused, and indeed his parents had actually booked flights to go over there for the World Cup earlier in the year, fully thinking that he would be still be living there, so it is fortuitous that, having now been selected to the Irish squad, he will at least be in the right hemisphere at the right time for them.
With Ireland’s other two fixtures being played in Papua New Guinea, and then Perth, they certainly will be covering some distances between matches.
“Whilst being at Northern Pride I had the opportunity of playing with them, in PNG,” he recalls, “It certainly is a unique atmosphere up there, even hostile, though they undoubtedly love their rugby league.  This time though we shall be playing at their new stadium, the Oil Search National Stadium, which will make the occasion rather more novel.
“Progress into the quarter finals could all come down to the last game against Wales in Perth.  We always provide each other with a tough tussle, and we will both want to get into the mix in order to test ourselves against the very best in the world.”