Jason Robinson
Hello. I'm Elizabeth Lickiss. And I'm Peter Laverock. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Crowds of people are standing. They jump up and down, shouting. The people are full of joy. Their team won the game.
This was the way one of the players remembers the victory. His name is Jason Robinson. The sport was Rugby football. The game was the World Cup final in two thousand and three. Jason's skill had helped to make the victory possible. The crowds had held their breath as Jason ran to the end of the field. He pushed himself forward. He touched the egg shaped rugby ball to the ground. Jason had scored the winning try, worth three points. England had victory. Many people would have liked to be Jason Robinson that day. Jason was the champion of the game - a national hero. What a great life!
But things have not always been so good for Jason. As a young boy Jason's life was full of difficulties. Jason grew up in a violent home. Every night there were fights. His mother's husband - Jason's stepfather - would smash up the house. He used to hit Jason and his brothers. He also used to hit Jason's mother. She was a small woman. She could not defend herself. Jason used to try to help. But what could a small boy do when against a large man?
It was not a good start in life. Jason became sad and full of anger. The only good thing in his life was his love for sport. The game that Jason loved more than any other was Rugby. It seemed to combine all the things that he loved most. It is important to be fast, strong and skilful to play this game. Jason spent all his time playing Rugby. It took him away from home - away from the violence and unhappiness. Everyone who watched Jason play could see that he was good. When Jason was sixteen, a team manager invited him to join his first team - Wigan. By the age of seventeen he was a professional league player. He earned a good living by playing rugby.
By the year nineteen ninety-five Jason was at the top of his sport. People believed Jason Robinson to be the best rugby league player in the country. Jason should have been happy. He had everything that he had ever wanted. But Jason was not happy. He started drinking too much alcohol. He drank so much that he could not remember where he had been. He got two women pregnant. He was involved in street fights. The police charged him with several crimes. He had hurt people in the fights. He had caused damage to property.
Jason appeared to have it all. He looked like he enjoyed life. But the truth was very different. Jason was lonely. His life was full of anger. He wanted his life to end. Jason remembers that time clearly. He said,
'I was standing at home with a knife in my hand. My rugby friends were outside, training. But I could do nothing. I seemed to be like a frozen man. I just stood in my house holding the knife firmly. I did not want to live. I wanted to kill myself. I was so low, so sad and so empty.' Jason felt that he had no hope. He could not see his way forward. So, what happened to him next? Jason is alive and well today. How can this be?
Jason was so close to killing himself that day. But something seemed to stop him. He could not kill himself. In deep depression Jason met with his rugby friends. He tried to train again. But rugby could no longer help him. It did not have the power to make him happy. One of his friends was New Zealand born rugby player Vi'aiga Tuigamala. Something about Vi'aiga made Jason think. Jason liked the way Vi'aiga lived his life. He seemed to be happy. He seemed to have a kind of joy within him that Jason had not seen before in any other person. Jason wanted the joy and peace that Vi'aiga seemed to have. What was his secret? Jason decided to find out.
Finally Jason talked to Vi'aiga. He asked Vi'aiga what made him so happy. Why did his life seem to have meaning and purpose? Vi'aiga explained that he was a Christian. His faith was at the centre of his life. It was not a secret - many people knew about Vi'aiga's faith. He was very willing to share his experience of Jesus Christ with Jason too. Vi'aiga explained to Jason that it was his faith that gave him a solid base to build his life. He had a perfect example to follow in life - Jesus Christ. Jesus gave him hope. Vi'aiga explained that he did not find it easy to live a good life. But he knew that he had God's help and forgiveness when he got it wrong. Vi'aiga also explained that being a Christian had not left him free of all problems. But being a Christian made him sure that God was there to support and help him.
With Vi'aiga's encouragement and support Jason explored Christianity. He wanted answers to his many questions. As Jason said,
"I had asked my questions. I had read the Bible. I had talked and discussed the issues. Everything seemed to make sense to me. It was time to decide. I wanted to know Jesus Christ. So I become a Christian." That was many years ago. Jason Robinson's life has now changed. He has chosen not to drink alcohol. He no longer gets into fights in the street. He is a happy family man. He is married to Amanda and they have three children. Life still has its problems. But Jason no longer feels weighed down by them. As he says,
'I am happy now. Once family life was a torment, a terrible thing for me. But now I have a lovely family and a good life. One of the greatest times of my life was my team's victory at the World Cup. But the most important time in my life was the day I became a Christian. Nothing could compare with that day. Without my faith I would be nothing. I hope that as a rugby player I can be an ambassador for Jesus Christ. I would like everyone to experience the joy that I now have'. The writer and producer of today's programme was Elizabeth Lickiss. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom. Computer users can hear our programmes and read our scripts on our website at www.radio.english.net. This programme is called 'Jason Robinson'. Thank you for joining us in today's Spotlight programme. Goodbye.
