At the 2011 Rugby World Cup, Warren Gatland's Wales side were handed a difficult draw in the pool stage of the tournament, beginning with matches against reigning champions South Africa and Samoa.
After suffering a narrow defeat to the Springboks, Wales boosted their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals with victory against Samoa, leaving them with matches against Namibia and Fiji to secure a spot in the last eight.
Namibia were the lowest-ranked of the 20 nations competing in the tournament in New Zealand, allowing the coach to rotate his squad, keeping the 19-year-old George North on the bench.
The then-Scarlets winger came on early in the second half after Wales had opened up a 22-0 lead in the opening 40 minutes, against a side which had lost 87-0 to South Africa in their previous outing.
The teenager made an impact just three minutes after his introduction, collecting a pass inside before sprinting over, extending Wales's advantage to 41-7. At 19 years and 166 days old, North beat the mark set by Australia's Joe Roff during the 1995 World Cup by 87 days.
It took North just five minutes to complete his brace, gathering the ball from a Liam Byrne offload after the full-back had brought the ball out from inside his own half, leaving his teammate to slip through two Namibia players before crossing the line.
The match also saw Wales's record cap winner Stephen Jones reach a significant landmark, as the fly-half kicked six conversions and a penalty on his way to passing the 900-point mark for his country.
Gatland's side went on to finish the game with 12 tries, including a hat-trick for Scott Williams on his full debut for the team.
North was among the tries again in Wales's next match, as they they thrashed Fiji 66-0 to confirm their place in the last eight on their way to a run to the semi-finals, where they eventually lost to France.
Now 23 years old, North has been an integral part of Wales's side and the British & Irish Lions over the last four years, helping Gatland claim two more Six Nations titles and a first successful Lions tour since 1997.
The winger comes into this year's World Cup off the back of a string of concussions though, having recently spent five months recuperating from a head injury sustained while playing for club side Northampton Saints earlier this year, after picking up two concussions while on duty with Wales in the Six Nations and last year's Autumn Internationals.
North's record could be beaten during the current World Cup, with Georgia scrum-half Vasil Lobzhanidze having already become the youngest player ever to feature in the tournament after the 18-year-old made his debut in their win over Tonga.
Sian Cowper
