WILL’S REDEMPTION
WILLIS HALAHOLO’S journey from Auckland gang member to Wales Grand Slam-chaser is a dizzying one.
The New Zealander of Tongan descent has turned heads in the Six Nations with his fast feet in big cameos against Scotland and
England, and could start his first
Test against Italy next weekend. Halaholo, 30, recalled: “In my last year of High School I ended up having a daughter. It messed with my head a bit and I
ended up going down a different path, with drinking and getting into a gang culture.
“I didn’t know much about being a father until my daughter was about two or three and started to talk. Up until then I felt like a stranger to her. It was then I started to change things. I got there just in time.”
His daughter, Atu, has three sisters now and can speak Welsh.
Halaholo (left), snapped up by Cardiff Blues five years ago, qualified for Wales on residency in 2019, and added: “I have a lot of cousins and a lot of family who have wasted their rugby talent, have gone down that path and never made it back.”
INDIA celebrated their series win over England before quickly turning their attentions to the World Test Championship final against New Zealand.
The inaugural final takes place at Lord’s in June with India the early favourites after turning over Australia and then England in successive series.
And skipper Virat Kohli admitted thoughts of getting to the final to face the Kiwis initially distracted his side.
He said: “It was more of a distraction till now for us because we are a side that is very committed to play
Test cricket and all these extra things can be a distraction for us.
“There was never a question of commitment or whether we are going for a win or not, and now we are in the final we can’t wait to be a part of it.”
And man-of-the-series Ravi Ashwin said: “Because of the World Test Championship final, we had to win.
“For a lot of players inside the dressing room, who aren’t playing white-ball cricket, for all of us the World Test Championship final is as good as the World Cup.” India will play England across a fivematch return series in August and September – and former paceman Steve Harmison admits he is concerned.
He said: “This result and the Australia win makes me a little bit worried about when they come over to England. I think they’ve got a good chance of turning England over.”