So close and yet so far. That was what it came down to as the Toa Samoa valiantly fought the Australia Kangaroos in a 30 – 10 Rugby League World Cup grand final slugfest at the legendary Old Trafford Stadium this month.
Building from the blueprint laid by the Mate Ma’a Tonga in 2018, the RLWC 2022 was hugely important for the Toa Samoa brigade. This time around, the inclusion of the National Rugby League (NRL) stars pledging allegiance to play for their beloved home country superpowered the side, changing the aura surrounding the team from that of yesteryears.
With the likes of Brian To’o, Stephen Crichton and Jerome Luai, expectations were high, with expert commentator, Fauono Ken Laban stating, “This is the greatest Toa Samoa team in the history of Samoan rugby league.”
However Samoa’s World Cup campaign had a rocky start; a disastrous World Cup 6-60 opener against England. That was clearly the wakeup call they needed. Toa Samoa went on to narrowly beat Tonga 20-18 in the quarter finals and redeemed themselves against England, winning 27-26 in extra time in the shock of the tournament.
But this was more than just rugby league. The success of the team brought not only the island nation of Samoa together, it united the Pacific region and Pacific Islanders living abroad. From Apia to Suva to Auckland, the Samoan flag was flying proudly from car windows and homes.
At the end of the campaign, playmaker Jerome Luai said, “Just being a part of that is something special and it is good to see Samoans around the world unified to one cause. I am just really blessed and grateful to be a part of this team and with what we have done the last couple of weeks, I think we have changed the game globally.”
Samoan and Parramatta Eels prop, Junior Paulo noted the support: “We have seen the parades that are happening in Australia, New Zealand, America and all around the world. This is part of the reason we chose to represent our heritage. We not only represent ourselves, our staff and our people, it’s also about the spirit of what Samoa means to us.”
So despite the final results, spirits are still high, and we should expect a brighter future for Pacific rugby league. And with the abundance of young talent in the ranks, there are hopes the Toa Samoa and the other Pacific powerhouse Tonga, may continue to play at the pinnacle of the game.
However, talk that Samoa and Tonga could be bumped up to the elite tier 1 category have been discounted by International Rugby League Chairman, Troy Grant.
“The aspirations of Samoa and Tonga (to be tier-one nations) are terrific and we will do everything we can to support them because that’s our job, but we don’t want to set them up to fail either,” he told News Corp.
To be ruled a tier 1 nation, requirements around participation numbers, domestic competitions, development programs for junior players and resourcing the sport must be met.
Playing for Samoa or Tonga would also affect players’ ability to participate in the State of Origin series in Australia.
But that’s for the administrators of the game to decide. For now, we celebrate with Samoa. This is definitely one to remember and hopefully inspire future generations in the Pacific that they can also make history.
