This week’s piece for the Western Force comes courtesy of an idea planted by our very own Kyle Willoughby, Head of Rugby here at Last Word on Sports.
Top 10 reasons why we should all love the Honey Badger.
1. It’s an odd looking, weasel type creature that isn’t so cuddly. It’s known for being very agressive amd was brought to everyone’s attention a few years back when it became a YouTube hit. Don’t believe me, go take a look for yourself.
But wait a minute, we aren’t writing for Animal Planet here. This is Last Word on Sports. Sorry for the mix up folks.
The Honey Badger we want to be referring to is, of course Western Force and Wallabies winger, Nick Cummins. There are lots of reasons why fans of both teams love the Honey Badger. So you here are 10 of the biggest reasons.
1. He is a very talented young man. Having started his professional playing career when he was 19 years-old. In 2007, Cummins was selected to play for the Australian 7s team. He became the top try scorer in the IRB Sevens World Series that year for Australia – that’s pretty impressive for a rookie.
2. He’s quick with the jokes in his interviews also. After the Western Force were victorious over the Highlanders in Dunedin over the weekend, Sky Sport NZ reporter Melodie Robinson asked Cummims “What’s your philosophy on attack with this team?” Now, most players would have responded with something along the lines of “Getting the boys to play as a team, paying attention to where the opposition are positioned and to close any gaps they could get through” but not the beloved Honey Badger. His response was short and sweet – “Into ’em, basically” If that comment doesn’t go down in history as one of the most comical responses to a serious question, I have no idea what will.
3. Something to go along with his comedic attitude – that moustache! I don’t think I need to say any more. It’s like something that you only see for Movember. But Honey Badger wears it proudly year round. Of course with the mass of golden locks to go with it.
4. Cummins was part of the Silver Medal winning Sevens teams at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Naturally getting a few tries along the way.
5. 2013 saw Cummins awarded with the Rugby Union Players’ Asociation Medal for Excellence. The award is given, not only for the players success on the field but takes into consideration all work they do for the community and also how they make efforts into furthering their education. It must be a huge honour to even be nominated for this award, let alone win it. Previous winners include Wallabies greats George Gregan and Nathan Sharpe.
6. Following on from number five – Cummins acceptance speach for this award. He seems like a very humble man. Not only did he thank his team mates for voting for him – the awards are voted for by the players – but he mentioned that he had to miss the awards ceremony to drive his Ute over to the other side of the country to give to his younger brother as a Christmas present. His younger brother Joe has Cystic Fibrosis, and Cummins wanted to make sure he got an awesome Christmas present. So he drove from Perth to Brisbane, missing the awards ceremony. That’s a pretty cool big brother if you ask me.
7. Another comic feature of Cummins is that this year www.news.com.au hailed him as the “World’s Most Australian Man” They were referring to his excessive use of Australian colloquialisms. Then going on to quote some slang he has used over the years and translating it into proper, more understandable English. Just a snippet of what was written. “QUOTE: “Lucky for me every bugger fell over and I got the gig” TRANSLATION: “I was selected in this team because several of my colleagues were injured. That was fortunate for me.”” I, myself found this article rather entertaining and somewhat useful. Having only been in Australia for about 10 months, I do struggle sometimes with the “Aussie Slang” but with guys like Nick Cummins around, there is no hiding from it. So, I guess I better whip out my Aussie dictionary and have a read.
8. He’s a try scoring genius for the Wallabies. Having being selected to make his international debut in 2012, Cummins has since played in 12 games for the Wallabies and scored five tries. After being named Man of the Match against England in 2013, he then went on to score two tries against Italy and another the week following against Ireland. He’s certainly one that the opposition need to watch out for.
9. So, for this one I thought I’d get someone else’s perspective. He may be a Blues fan but Javeed Ali certainly knows all there is to know about the game of Rugby. The thing he likes most about Cummins is that “he reminds us that although rugby may be a professional sport, at the end of the day, you have to enjoy it. Hence why, he’s a great ambassador of the game, especially for kids. He’s relaxed and he looks like someone who just enjoys playing rugby. He loves what he does, that’s why he’s doing so well.” As a high school rugby coach, Javeed knows what to look for in a player that will push them to higher limits. He may have some interesting things to say, so go ahead and follow him on Twitter (@jnacoaching).
10. As always, I’ll leave the best until last. So, how did Nick Cummins get his nickname “Honey Badger”? Well, it’s unique that’s for sure. And most people are given nicknames, Cummins gave himself this one. Again speaking to Sky Sport NZ’s Melodie Robinson, the man himself explained where the nickname came from. “Long story short, there is a documentary on National Geographic or Animal Planet or one of them Fox bloody setups, I watched this thing and this Honey Badger was going toe to toe with a male lion. It was underneath him, an underdog obviously, he was on his back clawing away, one, two and then bloody, the big fella got his canastas clawed off and trodded off around the corner and fell over. The Badger gets up and I thought, what an animal, that’s bloody impressive.”
So, there you have it. The ten reasons to love Nick Cummins. He could definitely find a job as a comedian if his rugby career flops – All fingers crossed it doesn’t but he certainly is quite the character. A player to watch for the rest of the season for sure.
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