An Albury-based footballer will represent Wales in the weekend's World Cup rugby league 9s.
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James Olds was a two-time premiership player with the Steamers in Southern Inland Rugby Union in 2013 and 2015, finishing as the code's leading points-scorer and snaring the association's Bill Castle Medal in the second season.
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However, he moved to Brisbane the following year and starred for West Brisbane Panthers in rugby league, winning a call-up for his homeland at last year's European Championship, where he topped the points-scoring with 40 in only three games, landing 18 goals from 22 attempts.
The winger-cum-centre will now face England tonight at rugby league's newest home ground - Parramatta's Bankwest Stadium - in front of thousands of fans.
"It's the Old Enemy sort of thing, they've got a few big names that have played this year in the NRL," he said.
England boasts warhorse captain James Graham and former St George Illawarra playmaker Gareth Widdop.
There's three pools in the 9s, with the top team from the Dragons' Pool B winning through to finals.
Olds is "over the moon" to be contesting the inaugural high profile event, but almost missed out after coming off second best against a well-known creepy crawly when he moved back to Albury three weeks ago.
"I'm saying it's a white-tail spider, I was hoping to wait it out but the elbow got really infected over the next four or five days," he said.
His arm "blew up" with former Steamers' colleagues comparing him to Popeye.
"(Laughs) Yeah, it would have been like that, yeah, Popeye, exactly," he laughed.
"I ended up going to hospital and they were like, 'we'll have to do surgery'. I've got a fair bit of stitching on the elbow but I trained with it on Tuesday, I took a knock on it but it held up well."
If Wales was to cause an upset and win through to the final four, it means Olds could face the wizardry of Australia's light-stepping Kalyn Ponga or the power of Tonga's Jason Taumalolo.
But his toughest test could be when he arrives home, with the Steamers and the Border's major rugby league outfit - - Group 9's Albury Thunder - to chase his services for 2020.
