North delight at reaching his century

FOR all the accolades and achievements George North has collected over the years he is not only immensely satisfied to have made it to 100 caps, but to have stuck it to his critics. ‘It’s been a nine-year goal,’ says the Wales star ahead of today’s clash with England. ‘I’m almost there now. But it’s taken a lot out of me to get here. Ups and downs for sure, a few bullets taken to the chest, but it’s something I’m incredibly proud of.’ Today, North becomes the youngest-ever player, at 28, to hit 100 for a single country. ‘I don’t think I appreciated the hype or the attention. I was quite blase about it,’ said North of his early days. ‘If you fast-forward ten-and-a-bit years, I haven’t stopped and it’s been the same amount of attention and pressure. ‘When you have to grow up quickly you have to learn about the pressures of international sport, the pressure pot we’re in every day, the scrutiny we get each game.’ North admits he struggled between 2013 and 2018 when at Northampton. ‘It was a s*** time,’ he said. ‘I couldn’t do anything right. My body had played a lot of rugby at that point and was churning out games. I wasn’t playing at 100 per cent — nowhere near it sometimes. ‘I got myself into a rut — the external pressures were too much. If I wasn’t scoring nine tries a game, setting up three, making 1,000 metres, 12 tackles, it was a poor game. I leant on my parents and Becky and my mates the most.’ Of wife Becky, who won Olympic silver as a track cyclist, North said: ‘She’s been incredible these past nine years.’

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