NRL

When New Zealand won its first and only Rugby League World Cup in 2008, Jahrome Hughes was just 14 years old and had only recently moved to the Gold Coast from Wellington.

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Fast forward 18 years and the 32-year-old Melbourne Storm star is ready to help guide the Kiwis back to international rugby league supremacy as part of arguably the strongest squad his nation has ever assembled. 

While Hughes has played 10 Tests for the Kiwis, including the heartbreaking 16-14 semi-final loss to the Kangaroos at the 2022 World Cup, it’s now been three years since his last appearance with injuries ruling him out selection for end-of-season tournaments in 2024 and 2025.

Mind you, his most recent international was a good one — the memorable final of the 2023 Pacific Championships when the Kiwis embarrassed Australia 30-0 in Hamilton.

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Speaking ahead of Thursday night’s blockbuster World Cup opener against Australia in Sydney, Hughes admitted it was ‘good to be back’ in the Kiwis squad for such a major tournament.

“I’ve had a couple of years away and it just makes you realise you can’t take this (Kiwis) jersey for granted,” he said.

The veteran No.7 revealed the painful memories of New Zealand’s semi-final defeat to Australia four years ago still linger.

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In fact, as Kiwi halfback on that fateful night in Leeds, Hughes said he blames himself for the loss after the Kiwis lead at half-time.

“Getting so close in 2022 and losing to Australia in the semi-final, I take a lot of blame for losing that game,” Hughes said.

“It’s fuelling that fire, making sure that doesn’t happen again… I feel like it’s worked for me already with my preparation and my mindset going into this tournament.”

With both Australia and New Zealand in the same group as Fiji and Cook Islands, the winner of Thursday night’s match will almost certainly secure top spot in Group A.

The Group A winner will play the runner up from the combined Group B/C in one semi-final, while the runner up will play the winner from the combined Group B/C in the other.

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