CAHILL COUSIN ROBERTS GOING FOR WORLD CUP GLORY
Tim Cahill, the Everton midfielder, may have scored on Wednesday in Australia's 4-0 victory over Qatar in the World Cup qualifier, but his cousin is about to take part in a World Cup of his own.
Ben Roberts, 23, is one of Samoa's rugby league stars and the scrum-half is expected to shine when the World Cup in Cahill's homeland kicks-off next Saturday (October 25).
Cahill, 28, is first cousin with Roberts, who plays for the Canterbury Bulldogs in the Australian NRL, and the two keep a keen eye on the other's progress.
"Pretty much every school holidays, every opportunity we got, we would hang out," said Roberts.
"There wouldn't be a day when we were apart. Tim was always a good soccer player. He was good, he was fast, he would get the ball and try to run around everyone. Everyone wanted to be on his team because he would always play to win.
"Over at our house it was football (rugby league) - my old man was a football fan."
In 2004, when Roberts' brother Willie turned 21, Cahill's present was a flight from Down Under to Cardiff, so he could watch Millwall - his then-team - play Manchester United in the FA Cup Final.
"That's something my older brother will always cherish and remember," Roberts continued. "Every birthday my brother would get a soccer ball and I would get a football."
Roberts' Samoa open their World Cup account against Tonga in Penrith at the CUA Stadium on October 31, next Friday.
Tim Cahill, the Everton midfielder, may have scored on Wednesday in Australia's 4-0 victory over Qatar in the World Cup qualifier, but his cousin is about to take part in a World Cup of his own.
Ben Roberts, 23, is one of Samoa's rugby league stars and the scrum-half is expected to shine when the World Cup in Cahill's homeland kicks-off next Saturday (October 25).
Cahill, 28, is first cousin with Roberts, who plays for the Canterbury Bulldogs in the Australian NRL, and the two keep a keen eye on the other's progress.
"Pretty much every school holidays, every opportunity we got, we would hang out," said Roberts.
"There wouldn't be a day when we were apart. Tim was always a good soccer player. He was good, he was fast, he would get the ball and try to run around everyone. Everyone wanted to be on his team because he would always play to win.
"Over at our house it was football (rugby league) - my old man was a football fan."
In 2004, when Roberts' brother Willie turned 21, Cahill's present was a flight from Down Under to Cardiff, so he could watch Millwall - his then-team - play Manchester United in the FA Cup Final.
"That's something my older brother will always cherish and remember," Roberts continued. "Every birthday my brother would get a soccer ball and I would get a football."
Roberts' Samoa open their World Cup account against Tonga in Penrith at the CUA Stadium on October 31, next Friday.
