Samoa names eight players from the grand final to its strong World Cup team

Samoa names eight players from the grand final to its strong World Cup team

The inclusion of eight players from the Penrith and Parramatta grand final sides in a potent squad revealed on Tuesday has highlighted Toa Samoa’s World Cup credentials.

Samoa is the first country from the Pacific to publicly reveal its World Cup roster, and if head coach Matt Parish wants to send a message before the team’s opening match against the hosts England on October 15, he has done so with the calibre of players identified.

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The 24-man team, which also includes Eels forwards Junior Paulo and Oregon Kaufusi, is led by Panthers stars Jarome Luai, Brian To’o, Stephen Crichton, Izack Tago, Spencer Leniu, and Taylan May.

This year’s NSW Origin team included Paulo, Luai, To’o, and Crichton, while Canberra prop Josh Papalii competed for Queensland.

In addition to Joseph Suaalii, a Sydney Roosters teen phenomenon, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, a North Queensland Cowboys speedster, represented the Maroons in the 2021 Origin series.

David Nofoaluma, a winger for Wests Tigers who finished the season on loan with Melbourne Storm, is one of 10 members of the Pacific Test team from June who did not make the World Cup roster.

Samoa defeated the Cook Islands 42-12 at Campbelltown Stadium thanks to four tries from Nofoaluma.

After suffering season-ending shoulder surgery, Warriors forward Jazz Tevaga, who played hooker in the midseason Test, has been ruled out.

Two Super League players, Huddersfield hooker Danny Levi and 2021 Penrith premiership winner Tyrone May, are slated to split the dummy half responsibilities with Wests Tigers utility Fa’amanu Brown.

While the front pack will put opposing nations on guard, Dolphins recruit Anthony Milford, Luai, Catalans Tyrone May, and Warriors playmaker Chanel Harris-Tavita give depth in the halves.

Along with Paulo and Papalii, the front-row stocks also feature Leniu and Kaufusi from Cronulla, Martin Taupa’u and Josh Aloiai of Manly, and Braden Hamlin-Uele and Royce Hunt of Cronulla.

The second-rowers are Wests Tigers rookie Kelma Tuilagi, Luciano Leilua of the Cowboys, Jaydn Su’a of St. George Illawarra, and back-row ballplayer Luciano Leilua of the Cowboys.

Fullback alternatives include Suaalii, Crichton Tabuai-Fidow, and Harris-Tavita. Parish can also go with a To’o, Crichton, Tago, and Taylan May-led Penrith three-quarters lineup.

Samoa will play host to England in the World Cup opener on October 15 at Newcastle’s St. James Park, before playing Greece in Doncaster on October 23 and France in Warrington on October 30.

Samoa will turn the tournament on its head if they defeat England and win Pool A, since the World Cup hosts may be matched up against Tonga in the quarterfinals.

The eight players who will compete in the championship game will leave on October 7 after the remainder of the Samoa team arrives in England on Monday. To know more about England Vs Samoa Tickets click here.

In addition, Parish has put together a strong coaching staff for the World Cup, including Lee Radford from Castleford and Daniel Holdsworth from the Sharks as an assistant.

They will join 2017 Samoa World Cup captain Frank Pritchard, former Leeds coach Richard Agar, and former Sea Eagles coach Geoff Toovey.

Andrew Webster, an assistant coach with the Panthers, was a member of the Samoa coaching staff for the midseason test victory against the Cook Islands, however he has since resigned after being hired as the Warriors’ head coach for the upcoming campaign.

Toa Samoa World Cup Squad

Josh Aloiai (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles)
Fa’amanu Brown (Wests Tigers)
Stephen Crichton (Penrith Panthers)
Mathew Feagai (St George-Illawarra Dragons)
Braden Hamlin-Uele (Cronulla Sharks)
Chanel Harris-Tavita (Warriors)
Royce Hunt (Cronulla Sharks)
Oregon Kaufusi (Parramatta Eels)
Luciano Leilua (North Queensland Cowboys)
Spencer Leniu (Penrith Panthers)
Danny Levi (Huddersfield Giants)
Jarome Luai (Penrith Panthers)
Taylan May (Penrith Panthers)
Tyrone May (Catalans Dragons)
Anthony Milford (Newcastle Knights)
Josh Papalii (Canberra Raiders)
Junior Paulo (Parramatta Eels)
Jaydn Su’a (St George-Illawarra Dragons)
Joseph Suaalii (Sydney Roosters)
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (North Queensland Cowboys)
Izack Tago (Penrith Panthers)
Martin Taupa’u (Manly Warringah Sea Eagles)
Brian To’o (Penrith Panthers)
Kelma Tuilagi (Wests Tigers)   
Coach: Matt Parish

Rugby World Cup Sevens: Samoa dumps Uganda to Bowl Quarterfinals

In the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 pre-Round of 16 encounter against Samoa, an upset was not in the cards for Uganda.

Although Samoa’s captain, Michael Wokorach, gave his team the early advantage, the Rugby Cranes were unable to stop Steve Onosai, who scored a hat trick to lead Samoa to a 33-07 triumph.

However, the Rugby Cranes will be able to draw some positives from the loss, especially after matching Samoa in the physical contest. After the game, forward Alex Aturinda told Kawowo Sports that the club had appropriately prepared for that challenge.

“We have been doing some physicality exercises. I must say we are actually more physical than them (but) we were just unlucky in the game and it didn’t go our way,” Alex Aturinda said.

The loss, unfortunately, closes Uganda’s campaign for the Melrose Cup but their action at the Cape Town Stadium will continue on Day Two in the Bowl Quarterfinals.

Aturinda added that the Rugby Cranes still have their spirits high for the remaining games. “We hope in the upcoming games, we are going to put up a good show,” he said.

The Republic of Korea, who fell to Wales 33-10 in their opening game, will play Uganda. At 9:59 a.m. EAT, this will be the third game of the day.

World Rugby has revealed the match schedule for the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 competition in Cape Town, South Africa, which will take place in exactly fifty days.

On the morning of the first day, Friday, September 9, at the Cape Town Stadium, Uganda Men’s Sevens, who qualified from Africa at the Rugby Africa Men’s Sevens in Kampala, will play. Zimbabwe and Kenya, two other African nations that purchased tickets at Kyadondo Rugby Club in April, will also attend.

A rematch of the 2018 match between Uganda and Samoa will take place at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California, USA. By defeating Uganda 45–07, the Pacific Islanders knocked the East Africans out of the Bowl quarterfinals.

Uganda will face the United States in the Round of 16 in that same day’s afternoon session if they prevail. The Rugby Cranes Sevens will play again on Saturday morning in the Bowl Quarterfinals if they lose to Samoa.

Tonga and Canada will be the opponents in each of Zimbabwe and Kenya’s Pre-Round of 16 matches.

World Rugby Chief Executive Alan Gilpin said, in a press release from World Rugby, “The release of the match schedule with 50 days to go is a really exciting moment on the road to Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 in Cape Town. Players, teams and fans can now fine-tune their plans and prepare for what promises to be a truly spectacular three-day showcase of world-class rugby sevens.”

The tournament will be contested in a “winner takes all” knockout style, which was first used in the Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco, USA, so it certainly promises to be spectacular.

After defeating Uruguay 28-28 in the playoff final, Uganda finished twentieth among the twenty-four teams competing in its first Rugby World Cup Sevens. They had previously defeated Zimbabwe in the quarterfinal and fell to Chile, 20-17, in the Bowl Semifinal.

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