England’s players will have no shortage of motivation when they step on to the field this Saturday for the opening match of their Rugby League World Cup campaign. But few, you suspect, have as strong a desire to send the right message out as Junior Nsemba. Whether you are a seasoned Super League fan or a first-time watcher on Saturday morning, the 22-year-old Wigan forward is one of English rugby league’s must-see talents and a player the eyes of the world will be drawn to over the next month.
But Nsemba has much more motivation than just on-field performances. This summer, he was subjected to racist abuse on social media after the Warriors’ win against St Helens at Magic Weekend. The matter was dealt with by police and a 56-year-old man arrested.
In the buildup to England’s first group match against Tonga on Saturday, Nsemba has bravely agreed to speak about those experiences for the first time; how it has affected him and his family, as well as how it has steeled him further to inspire young black people to rise up against such horrific abuse. In fact, they were his primary concern when the incident occurred. It’s wild, really, how someone can watch a game of rugby and come up with something like that.
You can be loved and hated on the rugby pitch but to possess that level of hate, I’ll never understand it.” Nsemba admits the support of Wigan, their chief executive, Kris Radlinski, and head coach, Matt Peet, was crucial throughout that period – which also coincided with a serious mid-season injury. He is also a keen supporter of the Rugby Football League’s Respect campaign, the game-wide initiative from community level up to Super League. But this runs deeper for Nsemba, who speaks with the eloquence and experience of a player who has been at the top level for a long time and is determined to leave a lasting legacy.
With England on the world stage this weekend, Nsemba is determined to show young people that hate will not win. I’m really motivated to help young people that might face a similar situation.” England clearly have an exceptional player on their hands, but in Nsemba they also have a role model for the next generation, too. But the pride in his performances in this World Cup will stretch across the globe, from his own home town of Wigan through to the Cameroonian capital of Yaoundé as Nsemba continues a remarkable sporting family lineage.
He is the nephew of the former Liverpool defender Rigobert Song, who represented Cameroon at four World Cups. His cousin Alex also featured in two tournaments for the same nation – and Nsemba says it is an honour to follow in the same footsteps on the global stage in his own maiden World Cup tournament at such a young age. But I’m on the other side of things in so many ways, especially with it being rugby.
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