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DOM Young has waited two years to help England to glory, taking in a terrifying health scare.
The 6ft 5ins Sydney Roosters winger flew home for last year’s Test series with Tonga but the closest he got was a ward at Leeds General Infirmary.
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For a sinus infection spread to his brain, with an abscess pushing on its lining, leaving him unable to open his eyes and meaning weeks of recovery.
Now he is here and healthy, he is determined to follow on from his blockbusting displays at the 2022 World Cup.
And avenging the shattering World Cup semi-final loss to tomorrow’s opponents Samoa would go a long way towards easing his frustrations.
Young said: “I was in hospital for a while, it was definitely bad. I came over to play and the closest I got was LGI. It was a nightmare.
“I was in for a few weeks. I don’t remember how many exactly, then I was on IV for another six to eight after that, so it was pretty serious.
“After that it was Christmas. I pretty much started feeling OK before it, then I went out to Oz straight away. It was no fun.
“When I came back to England, I was a little bit shaky. I wasn’t 100 per cent but it picked up when I got back.
“I don’t think the flight helped with all the pressure and that, it wasn’t nice. This time, though, I was definitely feeling a lot better.
“It did feel a bit funny coming back because the last time on the flight, that’s what happened but I’ve been fine. I’ve been back a while now and I’m ready to go.”
On one side of the world he is Dom Young, NRL superstar. Going for a coffee involves posing for fans’ photos as rugby league there has the same billing as Premier League football here.
When he heads back to his native Wakefield, he is just Dom who is asked to chip in with housework.
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Amazingly, he never made it in Super League as Huddersfield wasted the 6ft 6ins starlet’s talents before a gamble to join Newcastle Knights paid off big time.
Now he is starring with the Roosters but once he walks through the door at home, things change.
The 23-year-old added: “It’s good to come back and get in the mix with family and friends but as soon as I got home, my mum and dad were bossing me around, so they definitely bring me back down to being that young kid who’s never done anything.
“I’m still trying to get my mum to do everything for me. She’s retired now, so she’s plenty of time to do it but she’s still always telling me what to do!
“Being able to just go for a coffee is nice but it’s not too bad over there. I do get asked for photos but I’m not like James Tedesco or anyone like that.
“I think I’m all right and when I’m going around my area, everyone knows me anyway.”
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While Samoa are serious about deepening England’s wounds, the message from boss Shaun Wane is simple, ‘Nothing less than 2-0 will do.’
And belief throughout the camp is strong that they are better now than two years ago – that includes Young.
He continued: “It definitely hurt and took a while to get over. All the boys were pretty devastated. We felt like we were in a really good spot and we really wanted to win the World Cup at home.
“But when you do go through those hard moments together, it does bring you a bit closer and you probably saw that last year with the job we did against a really strong Tonga team.
“And it would be nice to get one back for me personally. It would be pretty sweet if we could get the win.”
