Charity is more than a shield.

[Macarthur Saints]

By Josh Massoud | February 28, 2009 12:00am



ST GEORGE Illawarra enforcer Justin Poore fell for another girl when he visited Rwanda during last year's NRL charity mission. But his long-term flame Cara needn't be too alarmed when she reads this, because Poore's African darling was under four feet tall and still played with marbles.
Countless Rwandan orphans seized the big prop's heart during the trip, but none more so than the little girl in a white dress who lived at the Village of Hope in the capital Kigali.
Between shifting bricks and hammering nails, Poore kept an eye out for her. They met during his first day of labouring at the village, and he bumped into the un-named girl shortly before returning to Australia.
"She and some other kids were playing marbles - but with rocks,'' he recalled. "It was one of the most upsetting things I've seen. I put my hand out to play and she saw a splinter. She took it out for me.'' <SPAN><SPAN><SPAN>
Poore returned the favour with a bag of real glass marbles. They didn't cost him much, but the gesture spoke volumes about Poore, who is deliberately guarded about his private life.
What goes on inside the 108kg Dragons enforcer's head has been a mystery over the five seasons since he made his debut.
Unravelling the real Justin Poore starts inside his left bicep, where a bible verse in Hebrew is inked. It reads, 'The Lord is my Shepherd'. It's the real deal. Poore didn't get the tattoo simply because he liked the saying - as a fulltime Christian he lives by it.
The 24-year-old attends church in Bulli each weekend and studies his religion via a correspondence program called the Postal Sunday School Mailbox Club.
He is also considering tithing - donating 10 per cent of his income from football and personal training venture The Engine Room Gym. During a Rwandan odyssey that was inspired by doing God's work, Poore was the unknown missionary.
"Rugby league is not the type of sport where you flaunt something like being religious,'' Poore says of his faith. "I'm 100 per cent - there's no hesitation in saying I believe in God and go to church. People have a picture about Christians being angels, but we're all human. I'm no angel - I make mistakes. It's how you recover from your mistakes that counts.''
Poore inherited the belief from his parents, who also played a significant role in him travelling to Africa with former Dragons bookend Paul Osborne. Before their son was born, Nigel and Susan Poore lived in a mud hut in Kenya for three years.
Poore returned to Australia - and the start of pre-season training under new Dragons coach Wayne Bennett - with mixed emotions. The challenges of a genocide-torn, third world country made him long for the comforts of coastal life in Wollongong, but returning to such abundance was a painful reminder of the poverty he left behind.
"That little girl - she wore this old dress,'' Poore said. "But when she sat down on the concrete she layed down a little rag so she wouldn't get dirty. Seeing something like that made me remember how lucky I am.
"If I didn't go to Rwanda, I'd probably still be giving my mum a hard time when my shirts are dirty after she washed them. But you look at these people and they are all happy. After the genocide, I don't know how they did it. As a church-going person I've learned a lot about life.''
His rugby league education also went to another level during the past three months with Wayne Bennett.
After making all 106 NRL appearances under previous coach Nathan Brown's watch, Poore - now off-contract and in demand from rival clubs - feels like a kid who has just changed schools: "I've never felt this excited about my footy - Wayne has taken us back to basics.
"During the first two trials, we've found that we can reach new levels.''
Tonight's annual Charity Shield clash against South Sydney is another chance for Poore to regain his fine 2008 form, which saw his name pencilled into Australia's World Cup train-on squad until a season-ending knee injury intervened.
"The Charity Shield always has a bit of hype about it, but we'll still be looking to get certain things right that we'll need to do during the season,'' he said.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegrap...006066,00.html

[yeenar69]

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