Wrexham juggernaut meets huge Hawks on Australian tour
Roger Vaughan |
Aaron James is a hard man to awe, given everything that has happened over the past four years at Wrexham.
But the English soccer defender felt he’d arrived in the land of the giants when he and his Wrexham AFC teammates visited AFL club Hawthorn.
“I’ve watched a little bit of it (AFL) – the size of the players, it’s just crazy,” James told reporters on Tuesday at Waverley Park.
“I stood next to one of them and it’s like looking up at the stars. It’s amazing.”
It’s Wrexham who boast the star power as the Welsh soccer phenomenons tour Australia and New Zealand for the first time, with the team flying in on Monday
Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney bought Wrexham AFC in 2021 and have turned the club into a sporting juggernaut.
James said Reynolds and McElhenney had not made the trip, which will feature friendlies against Melbourne Victory on Friday, then Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix.
Wrexham have won promotion three times in the past three seasons and are now in the Championship, one step below the UK’s Premier League.
It’s all been documented in the hit TV series Welcome to Wrexham, helping build a solid international fan base for the team.
“We’ve been to America quite a lot and the fans were massive, really enthusiastic,” said James, who is visiting Australia for the first time.
“Coming over here, it will be nice to see a different group of fans – playing the games as well, seeing what the Australian teams are like will be really good.”
Hawthorn player Conor Nash, who grew up in Ireland playing soccer, said Wrexham were in for an enthusiastic Australian welcome.
“I’ve watched their journey on the TV over the last few seasons. It’s been good fun and great to meet them,” Nash said.
“I know there’s a huge fan base down here with the (TV) series … it will be a pretty enjoyable experience for them.”
Nash and his teammates will miss Wrexham’s match against Victory, given their big Perth game on Saturday against Fremantle.
Hawthorn’s head of coaching development, former senior coach Brett Ratten, gave a short speech as the two teams exchanged guernseys at Waverley Park.
Ratten visited Wrexham in the off-season as part of his ongoing coach education.
“It’s amazing what they’ve done, three promotions in three years,” he told the Hawks and Wrexham players.
Ratten explained that the Wrexham-Hawthorn connection has an origin that goes back decades. The Hawks’ club doctor Liam West grew up only 20km from Wrexham kit man, or property steward, Ian Pugh-Jones.
They lived either side of the England-Wales border and are long-time friends, helping create the link between the two football clubs.
AAP
