Jy-Mel Coleman : « The strong bond we have as a team »
He just signed with the Newcastle Thunder, Jy-Mel Coleman, the Jamaican halfback talks about qualifying for the World Cup with his country and his new club challenge.
Jy-mel, can you introduce yourself in a few words ?
I’m a halfback who has a good kicking game and like to create space for others.
What does this mean for you and your country to be qualified for the World Cup ?
It’s massive for Jamaica to qualify. It means so much to us all and has been a long process. I have been building to this since 2009 when I made my debut.
What do you retain from your 2 games at the Americas cup ?
The 2 games we played were really tough and physical. It really was a war against America. We had to defend our line on numerous occasions and we kept turning up for each other. It just shows the strong bond we have as a team.
How will you prepare the world cup ?
Preparation for the World Cup starts now even though it isn’t until 2021. We will start to have more games against better teams like france and Ireland, Scotland and Wales to test ourselves and get us ready.
You played against France a year ago, what did you think of the team?
The french team is very strong and getting better year on year. It has a good blend of youth mixed in with some older more experienced players.
Why did you decide to join the Thunder ?
I joined Newcastle as they are building a good team and have lots of ambition and I wanted to be a part of that.
You will play with french player, Remy Marginet, in the halves, what do you think of him ?
Remy is a very talented player and someone I’m looking forward to playing with. He’s very fast and skilful and I think he’s in for a big season.
Is the goal to climb a division and play in Championship with Newcastle in 2020 ?
Hopefully this season we will be pushing for promotion to the championship with Newcastle thunder and then can cement ourselves as a solid championship club. But we have a team goal for promotion for sure.
Julien Castagnet
