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Chris Heighington to play for England
Christian Nicolussi From: The Daily Telegraph July 16, 2010 12:00AM
CHRIS Heighington looks set to finally pledge his allegiance to England and hopes to speak with new coach Steve McNamara in coming weeks about the move.
Heighington was overlooked for Origin duty this year after solid form for the Tigers and believes if he is ever going to reach the world stage, it will be with the Mother Country - not the Kangaroos.
The hard-working 27-year-old could even find himself playing for England against Australia in the Four Nations at the end of the season, alongside Tigers teammates Gareth Ellis and potentially Mark Flanagan.
Heighington, whose father Tom lived in England until his 20s, was reluctant to discuss the England move last night.
But he did admit Wests Tigers and Australian coach Tim Sheens had initially put the idea in his head.
"Tim brought it up at the end of last year and said he didn't want me going through my whole career without representing at the highest level," Heighington said.
"I agreed at the time, went back to my family and friends and discussed it and they were all happy with the possible move. If the Australian coach is pushing you to play for another country, it's obvious it would be hard to make it in the Australian team. Plus there are a lot of good back-rowers in the Queensland and NSW sides. There are a lot of good players in the England side, so I'm keen to speak with the coach in the coming weeks and see if he's interested and if I'd be a chance of being in the mix for the Four Nations."
Heighington has again been one of the NRL's unsung heroes and continues to power through a mountain of work for the high-flying Tigers. Such is his dedication that Tigers staffers continue to bring up the story of how Heighington one day caught a ferry, bus and train to training when the F3 freeway between the Central Coast and Sydney was closed due to bushfires.
Heighington said he had spoken with Ellis and Flanagan, who were keen to see him join the Poms.
He said to turn his back on Australia - and the chance to play Origin - was tough, but a luxury not afforded to a lot of foreigners.
"I'm sure Gareth would love to play Origin, it's the pinnacle of rugby league," Heighington said.
"But all I can do now is play well for the Tigers and hopefully the representative stuff takes care of itself."
Ellis said he would not be back for Monday's Cowboys match but hoped to return next weekend against Manly from a groin injury.
Christian Nicolussi From: The Daily Telegraph July 16, 2010 12:00AM
CHRIS Heighington looks set to finally pledge his allegiance to England and hopes to speak with new coach Steve McNamara in coming weeks about the move.
Heighington was overlooked for Origin duty this year after solid form for the Tigers and believes if he is ever going to reach the world stage, it will be with the Mother Country - not the Kangaroos.
The hard-working 27-year-old could even find himself playing for England against Australia in the Four Nations at the end of the season, alongside Tigers teammates Gareth Ellis and potentially Mark Flanagan.
Heighington, whose father Tom lived in England until his 20s, was reluctant to discuss the England move last night.
But he did admit Wests Tigers and Australian coach Tim Sheens had initially put the idea in his head.
"Tim brought it up at the end of last year and said he didn't want me going through my whole career without representing at the highest level," Heighington said.
"I agreed at the time, went back to my family and friends and discussed it and they were all happy with the possible move. If the Australian coach is pushing you to play for another country, it's obvious it would be hard to make it in the Australian team. Plus there are a lot of good back-rowers in the Queensland and NSW sides. There are a lot of good players in the England side, so I'm keen to speak with the coach in the coming weeks and see if he's interested and if I'd be a chance of being in the mix for the Four Nations."
Heighington has again been one of the NRL's unsung heroes and continues to power through a mountain of work for the high-flying Tigers. Such is his dedication that Tigers staffers continue to bring up the story of how Heighington one day caught a ferry, bus and train to training when the F3 freeway between the Central Coast and Sydney was closed due to bushfires.
Heighington said he had spoken with Ellis and Flanagan, who were keen to see him join the Poms.
He said to turn his back on Australia - and the chance to play Origin - was tough, but a luxury not afforded to a lot of foreigners.
"I'm sure Gareth would love to play Origin, it's the pinnacle of rugby league," Heighington said.
"But all I can do now is play well for the Tigers and hopefully the representative stuff takes care of itself."
Ellis said he would not be back for Monday's Cowboys match but hoped to return next weekend against Manly from a groin injury.