Abbas Miski on life at Wigan, trophy hopes and pride for Lebanon

Lebanon international Abbas Miski has made an easy transition into life at his new club Wigan – by getting used to the accents of his team-mates!

The 26-year-old winger caught Wigan’s eye whilst playing for London Broncos in the Championship last season. He scored 12 tries in 13 appearances for the capital club.

Miski has joined Wigan on a three-year deal, and the former Manly Sea Eagles winger is relishing the prospect of playing in Super League with the Warriors.

He told Love Rugby League: “Everyone is great here. There’s a lot of good characters here and there’s also a few Australians here which makes it a lot easier.

“I’ve got used to the Wigan accent as well so I can understand everyone fairly well! Everyone is great, from the coaching staff, to the staff members and to the people of Wigan as well. I couldn’t have asked for much more.”

Miski is keen to impress the fans in the stands at the DW Stadium with some impressive individual performances – but it is a ‘team first’ mentality with Matt Peet’s side this year.

He added: “The team goal is to win silverware and that’s at the forefront of everyone’s mind. We talk about it all the time about what we want to achieve this year.

“Personally, I want to play my best rugby when I get the opportunity to play. If everyone achieves their individual goals then there is no reason why the team can’t achieve their goals as well. My individual goals are to play as many games as possible and be the best I can and see where that takes me.”

SQUAD NUMBERS: Abbas Miski to wear 24 jersey for Wigan in 2022

Pride for Lebanon

Miski is the son of Lebanese parents who migrated to Australia in their early 20s.

He has won nine caps for Lebanon and was part of their 2017 World Cup squad. The Cedars were the tournament’s surprise package, who were then coached by Brad Fittler.

Miski wants to have a strong year in clubland so he can represent his Lebanese heritage again at this year’s World Cup, which is held in England.

He said: “I haven’t had much chat with the Lebanon team yet but I know it’s all getting organised.

“That is really exciting but I’m trying not to think about that too much right now. I’m just trying to take it week by week.

“My parents met in Lebanon and then came over. It was a bit of hectic time in Lebanon with the war so they started a new life in Australia and they love it. Me and my brothers and sisters were born and raised in Australia.

“My parents were very proud of me playing for Lebanon. I guess it brought back some memories for him. I guess a parent’s worst nightmare is their kids losing touch with their heritage so he was very proud of me. I’m glad I got to pull on that jersey.”

Going viral at the 2017 World Cup

A picture of Josh Mansour and Miski went viral on social media at the 2017 World Cup. Miski was dubbed as Mansour’s ‘clone’ as they lined up against each other on opposite wings when Lebanon took on Australia. Mansour is also of Lebanese descent and has previously played for the Cedars.

Must be weird for Josh Mansour to play against his stunt double Abbas Miski #NRLPanthersManly pic.twitter.com/QSYNfbmVKS

— Sportsbet.com.au (@sportsbetcomau) May 30, 2019

Recalling the funny moment, Miski laughed: “That blew up during the World Cup period! I took a picture with a lot of people who assumed I was Josh Mansour so I just went along with it. I stopped telling them that I wasn’t Josh Mansour!

“I’ve met him a couple of times and he’s a great guy. We share a lot of similarities, not just with the way we look, but with the way we play. It would be good to play alongside him.”

Lebanon have been drawn in a group with New Zealand, Ireland and Jamaica at his year’s World Cup.

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