Former Sunnybank schoolboy – and brother of 'The Honey Badger' – Nathan Cummins has helped Norway stage a massive upset in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup qualifiers.
One of eight siblings in the Cummins family, Nathan played five-eighth for Norway as they toppled Germany 40-22 to go from winless to champions of European Championship Group C (North).
Now living close to the city of Stavanger in Norway and with a Norwegian partner, Nathan Cummins has been a driving force in the establishment of league in Scandinavia and qualifies as a long-term resident.
The win over Germany was remarkable for a number of factors, after Norway previously lost 20-12 to the Czech Republic and Germany beat the Czechs 24-4.
To advance to the next stage of World Cup qualifying, last-placed Norway had to beat the favourites Germany by more than 14 points.
That would ensure that all teams in Group C (North) finished equal on one win, one loss, but that Norway would almost inconceivably advance on for-and-against.
At halftime, a lead of 16-10 was not sufficient for the Vikings to achieve their objective.
But Griffith University graduate Cummins helped step things up in the second stanza, dancing across in the 44th minute and then setting up two game-sealing tries to teammates Bendik Kalvik and Kristoffer Borsheim.
Kalvik's try was a sensational gamble that saw Cummins kick unexpectedly from a scrum for his flying winger, while Borsheim ended that match with four tries to his name.
Cummins' younger brother, Nick, is widely known as a laconic former Australian national rugby union winger and star of TV series The Bachelor.
The final wash-up of the European qualifier was that Norway progressed with a points differential of +10, while Germany's differential was reduced to +2.
Rugby League Norge founder Warren Heilig – a former Wynnum and Wavell Heights schoolboy – was overcome with the result.
"It brought a tear to my eye," said Heilig, also a former NRL Development Manager for Central Queensland.
"That was like my baby and to see it grow to this point is amazing."
Norway is due to face Greece in the next challenge to reaching the 2021 World Cup after Greece beat Ukraine 28-26 and Malta 60-4.
