JUSTIN Sangare chose the hard route after life proved a real Bagatelle.
But he could not be happier as taking the 'easy money' may have led to big trouble.
Leeds' French prop grew up in the Bagatelle area of Toulouse after moving from birthplace Mali when he was a toddler.
That district is not the nicest. Racial tension is high as many immigrants live there and crime rates are soaring as many turn to it to make ends meet.
However, a young Sangare opted to stay on the straight and narrow, unlike others he saw in the area.
He recalled: “There were kids – not friends of mine – who would hang around when we went to play football.
“They lived close to my home and had decided to take the easy money and go down the wrong path and they were asking us to as well.
“But to get out of that area, you’ve got to make your family proud and thanks to my parents showing the family the right way, I never decided to take the easy money.
MOST READ IN RUGBY LEAGUE
Boss Mark Applegarth helps Wakefield's players vent in nightmare winless run
Micky Higham calls on RL players to shed tough exterior after cancer scare
Tonga boss Kristian Woolf wants Test against St Helens' Jonny Lomax
How England Tests against Tonga replace New Zealand because of global politics
“All I did in Bagatelle as a kid was play football, there was no rugby there. It wasn’t until I went to school that I started giving rugby a try.
“My mother met my father in Mali, dad comes from Martinique but has some family in Mali.
Most read in Sport
Uefa 'in talks to move Champions League final 2500 miles'… just weeks before it
Arsenal title hopes suffer HUGE blow as TWO key stars are ruled out for season
Peter & Abbey Crouch’s raciest sex confessions – emoji code to role play
Ex-England ace unemployed at 40 after being released by Championship club
“But after I was born, it was better for dad to come to France, where he worked before coming to Mali.”
Sangare and Leeds' journey takes them to Wigan tonight after last week's home loss to Salford, the first of a league-cup double header.
But the Warriors are eyeing a return to top spot after slipping up at Hull FC and star full back Bevan French admits Rohan Smith's side will be up against a group looking to right the wrongs.
He said: "There were a few basic things that are easy to fix
"From the start against Hull, the contact and the intent wasn’t there, so it’s up to our own personal attitude now to sort that."
Source: Read Full Article