If Scott Prince somehow doesn’t feel special when he leads out the Prime Minister’s XIII against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby on Sunday, Mal Meninga’s glowing assessment of the veteran will do the trick.
Prince, 32, played the last of his four Tests and five State of Origins four years ago.
And he seemed resigned to it staying that way due to Queensland halves Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk’s dominance despite a form resurgence for the Gold Coast Titans in 2012.
But Queensland and PM’s XIII coach Meninga said the re-born halfback should not be ruled out of representative contention.
“He always said `any chance to put on the green and gold is a fantastic privilege’ and he has grabbed this with both hands,” Meninga told AAP of the PM’s XIII captain Prince.
“But I think he is on the fringe of making the Aussie side if anything happens (injury-wise) to JT (Thurston) or Cooper.
“He understands he is on the fringe. A good performance (on Sunday) will keep him in the selectors’ mind (ahead of next month’s trans-Tasman Test).
“I don’t think he is out of the picture representative-wise.”
Not that Prince could feel anything but inspired running out for the PM’s XIII.
Asked how NRL players were treated in PNG, the only country where rugby league is the national sport, Meninga said: “It’s superstar status, like Will and Kate going to the Pacific Islands. They worship them.
“They understand everything about them. They know their names, their families, how many kids they’ve got, what junior club they played for.
“It is a privilege and honour to go up there.”
And that’s just their arrival in PNG.
Playing at Lloyd Robson Oval is another experience entirely.
“It caters for about 10,000 but there would be 10,000 others in treetops, on the grandstand roof, on houses, on barbed wire fences just to watch the game,” Meninga said.
“Then there would be a similar amount outside that fence trying to listen or get an idea of the game.
“It’s just extraordinary.”
But Meninga knows the love-in will end on the field as an Adrian Lam-coached PNG side makes up for time lost due to political strife ahead of next year’s World Cup.
“It’s important to them, it’s their No.1 sport and there is a World Cup coming up next year,” Meninga said.
“So this is their chance to get back on the horse and impress Adrian Lam before next year.”
Centre Jason Tali – one of six debutants under skipper Glen Nami – gave an idea of what the NRL players could expect.
“I don’t care if they break my bone (sic) or not,” Tali told the PNG Post-Courier newspaper on Friday.
“This is the only chance I will have to prove my (World Cup) selection and I must stand and fight hard.”
The team’s visit also promotes causes such as AIDS awareness among the PNG community.
The PM’s XIII have not lost to PNG since their annual clashes began in 2005 but were held to a 24-24 draw in 2007.
