Tyrone McCarthy targets Ireland World Cup spot after joining Leigh

Drew Darbyshire

Leigh’s new recruit Tyrone McCarthy hopes to impress for the Centurions so he can make the Ireland squad for the World Cup this autumn. 

The 31-year-old forward has joined Leigh on a one-year deal ahead of their return to Super League.

McCarthy, who has earned 19 caps for Ireland, would love to play in his third World Cup later this year.

He said: “It is something I am really passionate about.

“It has been kind of been my focus in my personal training to keep fit and have that as my end goal. It is up to me now to put the performances in on the pitch and get a shirt.

“I’ve been training on my own over the last few months and was just holding out to get a Super League contract. Gaz Carvell (Leigh head of rugby) got in touch and asked if I’d like to get involved with what’s going on at Leigh.

“I want to have the influence like I feel I had at Salford, lead with my actions on the pitch and just work hard and hopefully I can inspire some of the lads to follow suit.”

McCarthy enjoyed a loan spell with the Centurions in 2010, where he played alongside now Leigh head coach John Duffy.

McCarthy said: “I’ve got a great relationship with John.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for him, he was quite a crafty player so I’m quite interested to see how he’ll go about and how much he’ll demand from me out on the pitch but I’m really looking forward to linking up with him.”

READ: Tyrone McCarthy: Pulling on Ireland jersey is a great honour

McCarthy has made more than 250 career appearances for Ireland, Warrington, Leigh (loan), Wakefield (loan), Swinton (loan), Northern Pride, Hull KR, St George Illawarra Dragons and Salford.

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