2022 Rugby League World Cup: Kiwi-NRL Samoa Breakdown
At the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, Samoa didn't win a game and qualified for the quarter-finals thanks to a 14-14 draw with Scotland. Cracking the quarter-finals resulted in a 46-0 loss to Australia and now Samoa are brewing as the trendiest low key team for this RLWC held in England.
Samoa had a talented squad back in 2017 but lacked the NRL championship vibes offered by Panthers usos who have emerged in recent years. Jarome Luai, Josh Papali'i and Junior Paulo all played in the 2017 tournament and they highlight the difference between RLWC campaigns for Samoa. Luai was the youngster, while Papali'i and Paulo have continued their development to become hearty leaders for Samoa.
A grizzly RLWC squad has been flipped into a vibrant squad this time around and Aotearoa usos will again play a major role in Samoa's campaign. Unfortunately, Jaxson Paulo (Northcote), Jazz Tevaga (Papakura) and Bunty Afoa (Pt Chevalier) have dropped out of Samoa's squad from their teams that played Cook Islands earlier this year.
Glenora lead the funky Aotearoa grassroots angle as Josh Aloiai is joined by fellow Glenora juniors Braden Hamlin-Uele and Kelma Tuilagi. This trio of Glenora juniors should get plenty of game time with Aloiai now a regular in Samoa’s middle and Hamlin-Uele bolstering that middle crew, while Tuilagi seems likely to seal a starting edge forward spot.
The glorious Fa'amanu Brown resurgence continues. Hornby junior Brown played at the previous RLWC and after missing a few years due to injury, Brown worked his way back into the Kiwi-NRL mixer. Brown started this season with North Sydney Bears who were linked to Roosters but Brown was outside the Roosters NRL group, with a move to Tigers having an instant impact for the Christchurch uso.
Brown left Bears mid-season and played 13 games for Tigers this season. Brown played less than 30 minutes off the bench in his first three games, then 40+ minutes as a starting hooker or lock in his next 10 games. Brown could play as a skillful middle forward or as the leading hooker in the squad. Wellington's Danny Levi covers hooker as well and the Randwick junior could share those duties with Brown.
These are the low key pockets of Samoa's squad that will be crucial, perhaps more influential than the trendy headline acts. Brown and Levi are joined by Chanel Harris-Tavita in Samoa's squad and he started alongside Anthony Milford in the halves earlier this year, a spot likely to be taken by Luai. A Mt Wellington junior in Auckland, Harris-Tavita will be moving on from rugby league after this RLWC and having snared minutes at fullback for NZ Warriors this season, Harris-Tavita could be an intriguing bench utility.
The versatility of Brown and Harris-Tavita gives Samoa options, but more importantly depth through a hefty tournament format. Working in their favour will be defensive impetus as Brown is the only bloke in this squad playing hooker most weeks in the NRL and while that was with a mediocre Tigers team, Brown was busy making 30-ish tackles most weeks. Harris-Tavita loves to whack in defence and compared to other players in this squad, that could boost Samoa's gritty defence.
Martin Taupau and Ligi Sao (Manurewa) round out the Aotearoa usos, with Sao stepping in for Luciano Leilua as he was already based in England. Sao is unlikely to play and Taupau sits behind better middle forwards in Samoa's depth chart, but should feature regularly.
Samoa are in Group A with European nations England, France and Greece. The first game of their campaign will be against England and this will set up their tournament, before games they should win against Greece then France. Defence and dealing with their hype will be crucial for Samoa.
Throwing players together in an All Star format won't win a RLWC. Samoa must be able to limit opposition scoring and grind through adversity mid-game, as well as injuries and suspensions. Samoa have enough class in their halves to control games as well and if they can dictate where games are played through their kicking mahi, Samoa will be well positioned for a deep RLWC run.
Samoa want to replicate Tonga's 2017 campaign, as if it is easy to copy. Tonga flourished during a tournament in the Polynesian hub of the world, with a coach and core group of players who were all in alignment. Samoa was exposed for not having that alignment in 2017 and they now have a younger group who won't be taking this RLWC for granted. How that looks with greater expectations will be interesting to track, although more hype may be the platform to blast Samoa into RLWC finals.
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