Rugby League World Cup: Are Samoa favourites to beat England in tournament opener?
- Published
Samoa did not win a match at the 2017 World Cup, but are favourites to beat England in the delayed 2021 opener
Rugby League World Cup 2021: England v Samoa |
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Venue: St James' Park, Newcastle Date: Saturday, 15 October Kick-off: 14:30 BST |
Coverage: Watch live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and online from 13:15 BST; Live commentary on Radio 5 Live Sports Extra; Live text and highlights on BBC Sport website & app |
If you believe England's Rugby League World Cup opener against Samoa at St James' Park will be an easy win for the hosts, you might want to think again.
Despite only playing one international since 2019, Samoa are favourites to win with most bookmakers and some pundits and England head coach Shaun Wane labelled his team as "the underdogs" at Monday's tournament launch in Manchester.
A win over the home nation on Saturday - in a game you can watch live on BBC One - would be a testament to how far Samoa have come.
It would not, however, be a shock.
'They made sacrifices to play for us'
Following changes to eligibility rules, external in recent years, a clutch of established players in Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) have chosen to represent Fiji, Samoa and Tonga instead of Tier One sides Australia or New Zealand.
Samoa have benefitted massively from this and now boast one of the strongest squads at this year's World Cup.
Two-time NRL Grand Final winner Jarome Luai captained the Junior Kiwis before representing Samoa
Brian To'o seemed a probable selection on the wing for Australia before deciding on Samoa, while Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton and Josh Papali'i have all committed to Matt Parish's side despite being eligible to play for the world champions.
They can even rely on teenage prodigy Joseph Sua'ali'i who, at the start of the year, had been tipped to be selected for the Kangaroos aged just 19.
"A lot of them have made a lot of sacrifices to play for this team," said Parish.
"It's very pleasing and humbling they have chosen to play for Samoa at this World Cup."
Can Samoa go all the way?
These changes mean Parish has arguably Samoa's greatest ever arsenal of talent to choose from.
Six members of Penrith Panthers' recent NRL Grand Final-winning team are in his squad, as well as two from the runners-up Parramatta Eels. Those players will be key to their chances on Saturday.
"I think Samoa are favourites [against England], very marginally, just because of the number of players they've had in the NRL Grand Final," said ex-England international Jon Wilkin on BBC Radio 5 Live's Rugby League podcast.
"It's the amount of confidence and experience that those guys will bring into the team."
Samoa's squad are no longer flying under the radar; fans, players and pundits are taking note.
Samoa's Brian To'o and Stephen Crichton helped the Panthers to a second consecutive NRL Grand Final win in October
Former New Zealand international Robbie Hunter-Paul feels "England should have enough", but, like Wilkin, "would not be surprised" if Samoa silenced the hosts on Saturday.
"That's great, right? There's this uncertainty, anxiety and jeopardy which will only create interest," said ex-Bradford Bulls player Hunter-Paul.
"And Samoa will grow as the competition goes on. This isn't the tournament rugby league used to be, now there are five teams who could win this.
"You have your traditional top three of Australia, England and New Zealand, but sides like Samoa and Tonga are effectively at that level."
'Beating England would be massive'
Samoa, representing a nation of approximately 200,000 people, have never defeated any of the traditional 'big three 'of England, Australia and New Zealand.
They have also never won a knockout match at a World Cup, falling at the quarter-final stage of the past two tournaments and failing to register a point in a 46-0 defeat by Australia in 2017.
Samoa captain Junior Paulo started for the Parramatta Eels in their Grand Final loss to the Panthers
"It's not necessarily about spoiling the party," said Samoa captain Junior Paulo.
"But beating England would signify a massive achievement for Samoa on the international scale."
Paulo, like many of his team-mates, was born in New Zealand. He was named in Australia's squad for the 2016 Four Nations before making his Samoa debut later that year.
Should his side beat England on Saturday, they will be in prime position to top Group A and, in theory, secure an easier last-eight tie.
A semi-final appearance would break new ground for Samoa; going one step further should not be written off.
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