A league of his own (From Campaign Series)

A league of his own

10:54am Wednesday 20th May 2009 in Latest sport By Iwan Davies

MEET one of Britain’s hottest young rugby league properties who has enjoyed a meteoric rise since taking up the game only a year ago.

Anthony Symons, from Aberbeeg, is one of four Celtic Crusaders Under-18s to make the Great Britain squad.

He jets off on a trip of a lifetime Down Under in July hoping to make the side that plays the best youngsters in the world, the Australian Schoolboys.

And rugby league’s great gain is rugby union’s big loss.

The 18-year-old former Newbridge Youth back row player had enjoyed his union career but became disillusioned with the game last year and fancied a change.

Symons was persuaded to play league after joining Blackwood RFC and being asked to turn out for the town’s Bulldogs team.

The 6ft 3in, 16st prop immediately fell in love with the 13-man game and was soon playing for Crusaders’ Under-18s after an impressive trial.

He described the buzz he gets from the game: “The adrenaline rush from league is fantastic - I want to go out and cause as much damage as I can!

“I would urge people to give it a go. It’s the best ‘stress reliever’ ever – if you’ve had a bad week at work or school, you can take it all out on the field in a constructive way and the camaraderie is even better than union. I live for the game.”

On his tour selection, he said: “It’s a fantastic feeling to be selected to play against the best. And I’ve always wanted to represent my country at the highest level.”

Symons has already won three Great Britain caps, winning the man-of-the-match award on his debut against the Australian Institute of Sport.

And this call-up marks a magnificent year after his Crusaders team won the Gillette National Youth League grand final. The Welsh boys hammered Leigh Miners Rangers 32-0 at Widnes’ Stobart Stadium.

It was a remarkable upset given that red-hot favourites Leigh annihilated the Crusaders 52-10 and 34-12 earlier in the season.

Symons said: “What makes it all the more special is that many of the boys have only just taken up league.

“I’ve never seen a team more focused than we were that day and everything just clicked.

“The day after the game Andy Lindley (Crusaders’ head of youth development) phoned me and summed it up when he said, ‘Have you stopped smiling yet, because I haven’t!’”

When he comes back from Australia, Symons will playing for Crusaders’ reserves, just one step away from the bright lights of the Super League.

He has a steely determination to make it as a professional: “I’m hoping I’ll be playing at that level in two years’ time.

“I will do anything to get there. If it means spending hour after hour at the gym then I’ll do it – without fail.”

He also wants to make it to the top as a tribute to his good friend Jonathan Davies, who died in a car crash just before Christmas.

The 18-year-old from Cardiff was a talented sportsman and Symons’ teammate at the Crusaders.

He said: “Jonathan was so comical and a great guy. His death was such a sad loss. I want to reach the top to prove to him I could do it.”