The youngest try scorer at the World Cup finals, and the joint world record holder for the most tries in Test rugby for a teenager, the giant north Walian wing can’t wait to have a crack at the French next weekend.
“The beauty of this team is that everyone has complete trust in themselves and the players around them,” said North. “Even when it went to 10-10 we all thought ‘we’re here for the long run, let’s not lose here’. We are happy with the way we are playing and, having reached the semi-finals, we are expecting big things.”
If, as expected, North plays in the next two matches at the World Cup he will take his cap tally to 15 – one more appearance than he has made for the Scarlets since making his debut against Gloucester in a friendly at the start of last season.
His 13 Welsh caps have already yielded nine tries and 45 points – 20 more than he has scored for his club side.
“It sounds incredible to say that I’m in the semi-finals of the World Cup with Wales – it is awesome. There aren’t words to describe the feeling at the end of the win over Ireland,” said North, who is 20 in April.
“There was a mixture of relief and excitement when the final whistle went. Going into the game we knew it could be a bit of a dog fight, but we were confident.”
But while North has been compared to the great All Black wrecking ball Jonah Lomu, he is quick to recognise the efforts of those around him and Wales continue with their dream journey in New Zealand, particularly his Scarlets team mate Rhys Priestland.
“Rhys is playing really well and is a great organiser and communicator. We talked long and hard during the week about working hard for each other and talking to each other during the game and I think we all looked after each other.”
