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The man with the best curly mullet in world rugby, the Emirates Western Force's Nick Cummins, is looking to capitalise on a strong game last Friday to set up a big 2009 season after breaking his ankle last year.
The 21-year-old Cummins is certainly a character off the field and is proud of his flowing hair and is also known to sing a great rendition of John Williamson's 'True Blue', but on the rugby field he is also a star winger.
The late season leg injury in 2008 cut short his season at nine matches, which included six starts on the wing, and he again got a start in Friday's 16-10 win over the Cheetahs at Subiaco Oval.
"Last week, we had a bit of a shock to the system by losing and that made us all put our heads down and work hard to turn it around. We did that and were lucky enough to come away with the win," Cummins said.
"It gives us confidence even though we won't let it go to our heads. We'll make sure we still do our extras because we have a hard three weeks ahead. The Brumbies won't be easy and we'll need to play at our best to win."
Temperatures on Friday were still over 30 degrees at kick-off time and Cummins was struggling a little with the conditions, but felt settled in the side after taking a high ball early off Cheetahs winger Danwel Demas.
"In the first half I was running around a bit like a horse upstairs and it was pretty hot. By the end of the game we were all cramping up, but it was just good to get the win," he said.
"It's good to get involved early whether it's a tackle, run or a catch to get the confidence up. I've been working under the high ball a lot with the coaches at training and it's good to see it pay off in a game."
While clearly a free spirit, coach John Mitchell encourages that approach from Cummins when he takes the field and he thrives at just being allowed to run and take on the opposition.
"I've been waiting for the opportunity and when they picked me they told me to get it, have a go and do your best. That's all you can do and I think I did that out there," he said.
"He's good like that and before the game just told me that he wanted me to use my footwork, be myself and have a dig whenever I can because he's confident I can get around a bloke. It was good to hear that they have that confidence in me and I was just keen to try to do what they asked."
As for the injury that ended his 2008 campaign, Cummins made sure he did everything right to recover and is glad to have no side effects of it now.
"It was tough on the mind, but the whole thing is mental and if you get your head right the body will follow suit," he said.
"I did the right recovery, always got physio on it, iced it after every session and stayed off it as long as they asked me to. I did everything possible and luckily it has come up good."
As for the prospects of losing his flowing curly locks on the three-week tour to Canberra and New Zealand, Cummins won't be letting anything get near his hair.
"I was hoping for a Samson and Delilah type of thing to come up, but I don’t date Delilah and there's not a chance of losing my strength."
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Courtesy of quality South African commentry
Originally Posted by RugbyWA
nick to a great 2009
