Kingston, Jamaica – Aaron Lawrence exemplifies the Jamaica adage “patient man rides donkey”.

In translation, that means that he who exercises patience will ultimately reap the rewards.

For former Jamaica goalkeeper Lawrence, this philosophical gem holds true.

During Jamaica’s successful Road to France World Cup qualifying campaign, he was number two to captain Warren Barrett.

In France, Lawrence, affectionately called “Wild Boy”, had to watch agonizingly from the bench as his Reggae Boyz suffered losses to Croatia (1-3) and Argentina (1-5).

Still, he waited his time, hoping that one day he would get his chance to shine on the big stage for his country.

That day came sooner that Lawrence expected, but he admitted he had a premonition that he would start in goal in Jamaica’s final game against Japan.

“I said to Robbie Earl (Lawrence’s teammate) the night before the game that ‘you know I am going to keep in the next game’, and he replied ‘how do you know that?’… More than that, I told him that I was going to go out there and show Jamaica and the world that I can go out there and do a good job.

“I also told him I intended to be the man of the match that day,” Lawrence recollected on the day before the Boyz pulled off a dramatic 2-1 win over Japan.

The silky-smooth midfielder Theodore “Tappa” Whitmore had both of Jamaica’s goals and most people recall that signature moment, but many forgot that it was the heroics of Lawrence in goal that preserved Jamaica’s advantage to the end as the Japanese opened up their cannons in search of comeback goals.

“I was very excited to get the chance and to see it coming together after all the work I have put in over the years. Playing in a World Cup game for the first time, people expect you to be nervous, but I was not because I knew what I was capable of,” said Lawrence, who works with Jamaica’s national program as an Under-15 coach.

Lawrence admits that he and his teammates were “over the moon” even before they got to France, having qualified in a 1-1 draw with Mexico on November 16, 1997, in Kingston’s National Stadium.

“It’s hard to explain how we felt at the time, but what I can tell you is that we were over the moon… it was a tremendous thing for me knowing that I was going to the World Cup and it was an honor to be a part of that group and it was special for me to go out there and represent all of Jamaica,” said the 47-year-old.

As a coach these days at school, community and national levels, Lawrence says as a matter, of course, he shares his World Cup experiences with his charges, hoping to inspire them in their own fledgling careers.

“I always share my World Cup experiences with the kids and I think those stories have motivated a lot of youngsters,” he said.

For the ongoing World Cup in Russia, Lawrence says “Brazil is my team”.