Joe Ofahenague reveals unlikely lesson in British culture as Leigh go for glory

JOE Ofahengaue is hell bent on making sure Leigh do not come a Cropper – after a crash course in British life, courtesy of Coronation Street cult hero Roy.

The Tongan prop was left bamboozled at comments after club videos showed he uses a supermarket bag for life for his training gear.

Fans almost immediately started comparing him to the character, famous for his ‘Roy Cropper Shopper’ – but as he only arrived in April, he did not have a clue who they were on about.

Now he knows as he hopes to dish out a lesson of his own – showing Wakefield what it takes to reach Super League’s semi-finals.

“I didn’t know who the guy was,” said Ofahengaue, who revealed the simple reason behind his bag for life.

“I asked my wife and she didn’t know, so I just Googled him. Then I messaged the club and we laughed about it, it’s pretty funny.

“Everyone gets a gym bag but I don’t like carrying on a cotton one because it smells – there are plastic bags I can wash out.

“I sweat a lot, that’s why. I don’t like carrying around a stinky bag while I can rinse out a bag for life at the end of the day. That’s why I carry it around, they’re good.

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“I’m a pretty simple person, that’s why I’m not too fussed about stuff like that but it’s mainly because I sweat a lot if I had a real gym bag, I’d have to wash it out every second day – so bags for life save me a lot of time.”

Ofahengaue, 30, has been a huge hit at Leigh since arriving mid-season as they achieved their highest ever Super League finish, third.

To the nephew of rugby union icon Willie, though, this is just the start – now t tackle the summit, three wins that would see them lift the Super League trophy at Old Trafford.

He added: “It’s base camp.

“For the least six to eight games, it’s been about just staying in the now. Finishing third is great but we’re present in the moment.

“At the start of the season, I wasn’t here but I’m pretty sure as a rugby league player, at the start of the season your goal is to win, to win competitions.

“But the story that we’ve built this year and the journey we’ve been on together has been amazing so far.

“The goal is obviously a big dance, the Grand Final. We want to win the big dance and we know all these little accomplishments along the way, they’re just little stations for us.

“But we’re staying in the now.”

Moving from Australia to England with a wife and three children in the middle of a season may seem a huge ask.

But Ofahengaue – who calls himself a ‘Brisbane boy, despite being born in Auckland, New Zealand – has done similar before and it worked a treat.

He told SunSport: “I’m a Brisbane boy up in Queensland in Australia and I moved my little family to Sydney, which is 12 hours away, a 12-hour drive.

“We lived isolated from our immediate family, my wife and I, and spent five years away from the ones we loved the most. It was pretty tough.

“So moving over here was an easier decision because I felt like those five years that we spent in Sydney away from everyone we loved the most kind of prepared us for a move like this.