Toa Sāmoa have made only one change for their Rugby League World Cup semi-final against Australia in Sydney on Sunday, bringing Ronald Volkman into the five-eighth role after Chanel Harris-Tavita was ruled out with a hamstring injury. Benaiah Ioelu starts at hooker, Jazz Tevaga goes to the bench and Deine Mariner returns to the interchange after recovering from his own hamstring problem.
The timing is why this matchup is drawing attention now. Sāmoa are trying to beat the defending champions and reach the final after being knocked out by the Kangaroos in the 2022 final, a 30-10 defeat that still sits heavily with the group. Junior Paulo said that loss still burns for the players who were there, but he also said the squad will not be weighed down by it when they run out on Sunday.
Paulo, one of the co-captains alongside Jarome Luai, said the old result can be used as fuel rather than baggage. He described the chance to face Australia as a privilege and an opportunity to be part of history, while also making clear that the group is focused on the task in front of them rather than what happened in the last meeting.
That last meeting was not a clean runway into a semi-final. Sāmoa came in off a 20-18 loss to Tonga in their final pool match, a result that showed how little room there is for error at this stage of the tournament. Yet Paulo remains available to lead them after avoiding a suspension over his tackle on Tongan winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, which means Sāmoa keep one of their most important leaders on the field when they need him most.
Australia, meanwhile, named the same starting side that beat the Cook Islands 66-6, with Reece Walsh keeping the fullback spot and James Tedesco again named on the bench. Coach Kevin Walters said Sāmoa were impressive in a physical battle with Tonga and warned that Australia are in for a tough contest on Sunday night, while also pointing to the occasion in front of a full house at Allianz Stadium.
The bigger picture is hard to miss. The tournament was officially the 2021 Rugby League World Cup before being pushed into 2022 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Sāmoa’s current run is being measured against the one ended by Australia in that final. On Sunday, they get the same opponent again, with a place in the final and a long memory riding on the result.
