Rodrick Tai the third PNG-born player to play for Warrington Wolves

The outside back has had to be patient in waiting for his chance to shine having sustained a knee injury in pre-season but having completed his recovery, he was named in the side for the Challenge Cup clash against London Broncos.

And he did not disappoint, scoring a first-half try to cap a promising all-round display in The Wire’s 42-0 sixth-round victory.

There will have been plenty keeping an eye on his progress in his home nation of Papua New Guinea, where rugby league is the national sport and Tai had established himself as a key part of the Kumuls team that reached the quarter finals of the last World Cup and won the Pacific Bowl last year.

By turning out yesterday, Tai joined a pretty exclusive club in becoming just the third PNG-born player to pull on the Warrington jersey.

He is the first to do so since John Wilshere had a brief but productive spell with the club in 2004.

He scored five tries in his first seven outings before breaking his cheekbone at London Broncos.

The injury sidelined him for six weeks and Wilshere then suffered knee ligament damage in his comeback game at home to St Helens.

The problem proved to be far more stubborn than the club had anticipated, and he eventually had an operation near the end of the season after a cartilage tear was diagnosed.

He then went on to join Leigh Centurions before moving onto Salford City Reds, with whom he enjoyed a four-year spell before retirement in 2009.

John Wilshere in action for The Wire during 2004 (Image: Mike Boden)

The only other PNG-born Wire player was Tom O’Reilly.

He figured in a number of reserve team games before being given his first-team chance.

O'Reilly, who made 34 first-grade appearances with Gold Coast in the late 1990s, made 16 appearances in primrose and blue, 15 of those coming in the infamous 2002 season headed by Steve Anderson that ended up being a year-long battle against relegation.

Tom O'Reilly (Image: Mike Boden)