 Shaun Wane might have told him Victor's coming today and staying there, so he just reached out and for about two weeks he drove me around like I was his son until I got a car sorted!' And all-action Radley has quickly endeared himself to England fans, ever since his man-of-the-match display in the 60-6 opening day rout of Samoa at Newcastle. He knows it'll be a different challenge today at the Emirates given Matt Parish's side have transformed in the four weeks si){kind=link}
The Australian loose forward says England captain Tomkins took him under his wing in marathon boozy session before the World Cup started, which and has helped him settle in with his new international team-mates
Victor Radley spent his first days in England on the sauce with captain Sam Tomkins and aims to make sure the World Cup ends in a big party, too.
The fiery Australian loose forward’s been a revelation since turning his back on a potential Kangaroos call-up to play for the land of his father. Radley’s form has been so good this tournament that he’s in the running for the 2022 Golden Boot alongside England team-mates Tom Burgess and George Williams. And today he hopes to fire up again to knock Samoa out and clinch a spot in next Saturday’s Old Trafford World Cup final against Australia.
Fittingly, Manchester is where Sydney Roosters star Radley quickly got to grips with his English roots – with a little help from Tomkins – before the full squad got together. He recalled: “We’d trained and then they said we had three days off. I was a bit like, âOh, what am I going to do’. I spent the whole three days with new people that I’d met and loved every second of it.
“Sam was the first to send a message to come down for a coffee which turned into about 30 pints. It was really good of him and good fun. Because he’d come over from France, he was staying at Worsley Park with me so it was just the two of us. I think (coach) Shaun Wane might have told him Victor’s coming today and staying there, so he just reached out and for about two weeks he drove me around like I was his son until I got a car sorted!”