African nation a big part of Junior Nsemba’s rise – as he helps kids in need

JUNIOR Nsemba will have plenty of backing as he steps up to England level – not least from the children helped at his family’s orphanage.

Wigan’s back row sensation will make his Test debut against Samoa today, sparking scenes of celebration in the capital of Cameroon, Yaounde.

And you could expect to see more kids on the streets wearing rugby league gear, almost 5,000 miles from where the 20-year-old will be doing his stuff in Leeds.

For Nsemba revealed his mother Giselle helps run an orphanage in her home city and donations mean plenty of those it aids can be found in the Warriors’ cherry and white.

“It’s a real tough thing to do,” said Nsemba, who will head to Cameroon in the off-season, after a holiday with pal and England team-mate Kai Pearce-Paul.

“It’s in Yaounde, where all my family is based, but I don’t actually know its name. I’d have to ask my mum as I don’t go into it too deeply with her. I just know she runs one.

“So we’ll sort the containers for there out and I’ll head to Cameroon with my mum. Kids there literally don’t have anything.

“But all the players at Wigan have helped massively. They give clothes they don’t want or need, or that don’t fit any longer, and we send them over in a container.

“It’s more than just once a year. One goes out whenever it’s full – now the kids are repping Wigan Warriors kit.

“There are dozens of kids running around Yaounde wearing Wigan's kit. It’s good.”

Not everyone in Yaounde will be trying to watch Nsemba in action. He admits his fiercely protective grandmothers would be screaming at the TV if they saw him being tackled.

But Cameroon can claim credit for creating the breakout star of 2024, who Wigan were quick to get on a six-year contract as NRL talk swirled.

For its food helped turn an 18-year-old ‘tall, lanky thing’ into the powerhouse he is today after he announced his talents to some of his now team-mates in a 2022 pre-World Cup training session.

“It’s purely down to the gym and my mum’s food,” added Nsemba, who actually started pre-season on crutches because of a knee problem.

“It’s Cameroonian food, let me tell you! The main thing is jollof rice but there’s plantain and your meats – the way they cook them is different.

“When I was on crutches, I was 97 or 98kg, now I’m 110kg.

“And at that training session, I was a tall, lanky thing, so I thought I was a target. Coming up training against England was a big thing.

“Being called up for that might not seem like it to some but it was for me. Just to see what the standards and training were like.

“If anything, I was more nervous then than I am now. I’m a pretty nervous guy when it comes to things anyway but as you get older, you learn to control them.”

Nsemba is not the only Wigan player coming into England’s side today. Winger Liam Marshall will finally earn a cap while prop Luke Thompson is back from suspension.

And he is ready to put lessons from his enforced watching brief into action.

He said: “It was about seeing things I could exploit and having a look out for them – there were a few things we’ve spoken about that we could’ve done better.

“We started well but we’ve got to stick with that for longer. Hopefully, we’ll get better than last week and Test rugby definitely sees things go up a few notches.”