From Burundi to Cuba, Greece, Jamaica, Latvia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Ukraine and Zimbabwe, the NRL is Australia’s most culturally diverse sporting code.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo noted at the launch of this weekend’s Multi-Cultural Round that 153 players from the Telstra Premiership played for 13 of the 16 teams in last year’s World Cup - but that is only the tip of the iceberg.
Almost a third of players were born outside Australia and 51 per cent have at least one parent born overseas.A further 44 players were born in the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa or Tonga.Arguably, the player with the most diverse cultural background is Wests Tigers utility Alex Seyfarth, whose mother was born in England and has grandparents from Spain and Sri Lanka on one side of his family and Slovenia on the other.
Titans forward Jacob Alick, who represented Papua New Guinea at last year's World Cup, is also eligible for Jamaica, along with Knights winger Dom Young, who starred for England. “Often in society we congregate with people from similar backgrounds as us, or similar religions or similar genders, but sport forces us, in a way, to be able to see the benefits and the strength of multi-culturalism.
“There is no greater club when it comes to multi-cultural diversity,” Canterbury CEO Aaron Warburton said. Bulldogs great Hazem El Masri, who was born in Tripoli and played eight Tests for his native Lebanon while also representing NSW and Australia, said the game was now more diverse than when he hung up his boots in 2009.©Grant Trouville/NRL Photos
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Newcastle Knights star facing lengthy NRL suspension for high tackleNewcastle's State of Origin prop Jacob Saifiti may serve a suspension of at least five matches after being dealt a grade-three charge over his high shot on Wests Tigers hooker Jake Simpkin.
Read more »
NRL superman Junior Paulo’s savvy big money moves into real estate - realestate.com.auParramatta Eels and Blues Origin enforcer Junior Paulo is making his money work as hard off the field as he does on it.
Read more »
More NRL teams are an option but further expansion comes with associated risks | Nick TedeschiThe Dolphins have shown the way so far this season but there are no guaranteed rewards for adding an 18th, 19th and 20th team
Read more »
NRL star suffers fourth concussion in a year as playing future in doubtFuelled by a torrent of criticism, the NRL_Dragons kickstarted their campaign with a 32-18 win over the GCTitans at Kogarah last night. Rising star Tyrell Sloan ignited the Dragons after a nightmare start. NRL 7NEWS
Read more »
'It means a bit to everyone': Inside the debut of an NRL rookieAn NRL debut is a special occasion for not only the player involved, but also his family, friends and others who have helped him along the way.
Read more »
Perrottet backtracks on calls for teen NRL fan to receive life banNSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has admitted he was 'too strong' in calling for the teenager who racially abused Latrell Mitchell to receive a life ban.
Read more »