Wynne’s parents Ken and Diane still live at Gunnedah and he said the other good thing about the World Cup is being able to catch up with his family.

He went to school at Gunnedah High and was a Gunnedah Bulldogs junior and senior before heading to the NRL.

“I was born and bred in Gunnedah,” he said.

“I played all the way through juniors there and had one year in first grade before I went to Illawarra.

“John Lennan was the coach and that was the year we went through undefeated, only to lose the grand final to Werris Creek.

“That still hurts,” he laughed.

After leaving Gunnedah for Wollongong, Wynne spent a few years there before moving further north.

“I went to the Illawarra Steelers when I was 18 and spent four years there, three with the Steelers and one with the merged club (St George-Illawarra),” he said.

“Then I went to Newcastle and had three years there.

“All I wanted to do then was play one game of first grade and eventually I got a handful of games so that was a great

experience.”

At the Knights Wynne found himself as the understudy to arguably the greatest halfback the game has produced.

Andrew Johns was probably the reason he didn’t play more first grade but Wynne said playing and training with the legendary number seven and a host of other representative stars taught him a lot.

Even the pressure of filling in for Johns was valuable.

“It was hard but it was easy too,” Wynne said.

“It was easy because no one expected me to be him.

“I learned more in my last year or two at Newcastle than anywhere else.

“It was good experience.”

He played five games of first grade before signing with Toulouse Olympique in 2003.

It was another big step to relocate to the other side of the world but Wynne now has a long list of achievements to prove his French excursion has been worth it.

Wynne was one of the key men at Toulouse, which back in 2004 made it all the way to the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup in England – the first French club to do so.

It was a dream run that included a win over Super League opposition.

“That was massive,” Wynne said.

“We beat Widnes in the quarters, who were in Super League, and then got to play Leeds in the semis.

“I spent five years there and then got the captain-coaching job at Lezingan.”

Success came quickly at his new club too.

Lezignan-Corbieres is a small town in southern France between Carcassonne and Narbonne but this year the town’s footy club went all the way in the French domestic league.

Wynne led the side to the grand final against Pia at Beziers in May and the “Sangliers” came away with a 26-16 win to avenge their previous year’s loss in the decider.

“Thank God,” Wynne said.

“I was beginning to think I was cursed.

“I’d played in a few finals at Toulouse and hadn’t won any.

“It was a brilliant day, one of the best.

“For a first year as coach and to win the title I was so happy – a bit relieved as well.”

“I’ll go back and have one more year as player-coach at Lezignan and then I’ll hang up the boots from a playing perspective,” he said.

“I’m hoping to then get a place as a coach.

“I’m looking for something in Australia or France or

England.

“I definitely want to go into a coaching career.”

In the meantime he has been training with his French teammates in Canberra this week after an earlier camp on the Sunshine Coast.

He said training and team bonding had been fun so far but the serious stuff begins now.

Wynne is not the only local link to the French side either.

Winger Justin Murphy lived in Narrabri as a youngster where his dad Graham and mum Heather owned a pub.

They moved to Toowoomba where Justin and his brother Nathan both picked up contracts with the Brisbane

Broncos.

Justin moved on to the Bulldogs and then to the New Zealand Warriors where he played 43 of his 44 NRL games, before heading to England for a brief stint with Widnes.

In 2005 he joined Union Treiziste Catalane (UTC), the precursor to the Catalans Dragons, which joined the Super League in 2006.

A prolific try scorer, Murphy was a member of the Dragons side which finished in the top four in the Super League this season and reached the Challenge Cup final in 2007.

He made his debut for France late last year.

Murphy and Wynne are also not the first locally-produced players to turn out for France.

Armidale product Theo Anast played for France in the ’90s after spending a number of years in the French domestic league.

Wynne will be just the latest Gunnedah product to play in a Rugby League World Cup too.

John O’Neill played for Australia in the 1970, ’72 and ’75 tournaments, Ron Turner was also in that squad in 1970 and John “Dallas” Donnelly was part of the 1975 competition.

The ’70 and ’75 campaigns ended in success but the ’72 team lost to Great Britain – the last time a team other than Australia has won the Cup.

Somerton’s Richard Swain also turned out for New Zealand in the 2000 tournament after qualifying via the parent rule and was part of the 40-12 loss to Australia in the final.

Wynne’s French side may be a long shot for this year’s final but all it will take is an upset or two.

If the Tricoleurs get through the pool stages they will face Tonga, Samoa or Ireland in the semi-final qualifier at Skilled Park on the Gold Coast for a place in the semi-finals.

That semi could place Wynne up against his country of birth in Sydney with Australia favoured to win its pool against England, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

But even if he does face the Kangaroos he will be giving his all for his adopted country.