Mitchell Moses: This Lebanon jersey means everything
Lebanon captain Mitchell Moses says it would mean so much to everyone in his ancestral homeland if they were to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
The Cedars picked up their first win of the tournament by beating Ireland 32-14 at the Leigh Sports Village on Sunday afternoon.
Michael Cheika’s side will progress through the group stages if they beat Jamaica next week.
“We’ve got Jamaica in a big game next week,” Moses said after their win over Ireland.
“They tried their guts out last night against New Zealand and they are going to come out fired up and ready to spoil everything for us, so we need to weather the storm. Our full focus is on Jamaica.
“It’s massive for everyone back home in Lebanon (if we reach the quarters). We are leaving our families for however long to make sacrifices.
“The boys are coming here to show everything for their families and this jersey. It means everything. If we can get the job done next week, then it will mean a lot.”
Lebanese fans got us home, says Mitchell Moses
There were plenty of Lebanon flags in the crowd amongst the 6,000-plus crowd in Leigh, and the Lebanese fans made it a real atmosphere to savour.
“It got us home today,” Moses said of the Lebanese support. “There were times where we were struggling out there and the boys were out on their feet, but the crowd got right behind us. We’ve got such a great supporter base here and hopefully they can keep turning up to every game.”
Moses capped a man of the match performance by giving his medal to a young supporter after the game.
“He had a Parramatta jersey on and was screaming my name out,” Moses said. “It meant a lot to me to get man of the match in a game for Lebanon. I thought I’d give it to him and it meant the world to him.”
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