ONLY a few months ago Brent Cockbain, the Australian born and bred lock, was contemplating nothing more than a season with the newly-formed Celtic Warriors and settling further in Wales with his Welsh wife and new baby boy.

But his world was to turn upside down. Just days after qualifying for Wales on a three-year residency, he was called into the national squad.

Then he made the 30-strong World Cup squad to the surprise of many, played in the opener against Canada and is now set for the group crunch match against Italy on Saturday.

That completes a remarkable transformation, a fact which he readily acknowledges.

"It just shows what can happen," he said. "It's a great feeling, and playing in front of a full house with a lot of support here now will be fantastic.

"With me not being in the picture, the opportunity to play in such a big game completes a great year, though I'd like to play against New Zealand as well.

"My original intention was to come over to the UK, play a bit of rugby and enjoy myself. After a year with London Irish I joined Pontypridd, but by the time I was in the third year of my contract playing for Wales was in my mind.

"Starting against Canada in the first World Cup game was good, we kept chipping away at them, and then Tonga came out fired up and stopped us playing.

"We could have played a lot better, but everything has been pretty sharp his week."

Cockbain's brother Matt is a former Australian World Cup winner and a member of the current squad, though they haven't had a chance to meet up yet.

But Brent's wife Kate and son Toby have flown in and his parents have also joined him as well as a sister and brother.

"I'm enjoying being in Australia, though I've been in the UK long enough now to talk about Cardiff as being my home," he said.

"Everyone has been very positive here, even Aussies have come up and said 'good on you.' I feel as though everyone is on my side."ONLY a few months ago Brent Cockbain, the Australian born and bred lock, was contemplating nothing more than a season with the newly-formed Celtic Warriors and settling further in Wales with his Welsh wife and new baby boy.

But his world was to turn upside down. Just days after qualifying for Wales on a three-year residency, he was called into the national squad.

Then he made the 30-strong World Cup squad to the surprise of many, played in the opener against Canada and is now set for the group crunch match against Italy on Saturday.

That completes a remarkable transformation, a fact which he readily acknowledges.

"It just shows what can happen," he said. "It's a great feeling, and playing in front of a full house with a lot of support here now will be fantastic.

"With me not being in the picture, the opportunity to play in such a big game completes a great year, though I'd like to play against New Zealand as well.

"My original intention was to come over to the UK, play a bit of rugby and enjoy myself. After a year with London Irish I joined Pontypridd, but by the time I was in the third year of my contract playing for Wales was in my mind.

"Starting against Canada in the first World Cup game was good, we kept chipping away at them, and then Tonga came out fired up and stopped us playing.

"We could have played a lot better, but everything has been pretty sharp his week."

Cockbain's brother Matt is a former Australian World Cup winner and a member of the current squad, though they haven't had a chance to meet up yet.

But Brent's wife Kate and son Toby have flown in and his parents have also joined him as well as a sister and brother.

"I'm enjoying being in Australia, though I've been in the UK long enough now to talk about Cardiff as being my home," he said.

"Everyone has been very positive here, even Aussies have come up and said 'good on you.' I feel as though everyone is on my side."