Rugby League World Cup Preview - Pacific Islands Edition
By Thomas Law
Nine years ago, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga came to the 2013 World Cup as unfancied additions to make up the numbers. This time they all have genuine aspirations of reaching the knockout stage, with some even having ultimate victory in their sights.
The change in rugby league’s eligibility laws – allowing players to ‘switch’ between nations from year to year, and maintaining State of Origin eligibility for non-Australia internationals (bar New Zealand and England) paved the way for a revolution in the international game. But it took brave players like Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita back in 2017 to turn down the nations of their birth, and with it far larger paycheques, to represent their heritage.
That opened the floodgates for more players to do likewise for this tournament; a critical mass has been reached in which not only are more players of greater quality opting to play for the nations of their parents’ and/or grandparents’ birth, but it is sparking a pride amongst the existing and emerging player base, one felt throughout fanbases across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.
Every Pacific side will fancy their chances of improving on their previous World Cup showing in 2017. Whilst they will not have the same vociferous support that greeted them in Auckland, Port Moresby, Hamilton and Wellington, the rugby league-loving public of northern England will certainly show their appreciation for both players that line up for their own clubs, as well as world class athletes that they very rarely have the chance to see in the flesh.
The players’ efforts, skill, athleticism, and indeed their cultural performances – from the war dances of the Polynesian sides to the captivatingly soul-satisfying hymns of the Fijians – will all grip the attention of the English public being saturated with every game across the BBC. That one of these sides may be needed to stop England’s bitter rivals Australia from winning again will no doubt endear them too.
Ahead of the start of the action on Sunday morning, the CoconetTV looks at all five of the Pacific Islander men’s sides.
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COOK ISLANDS
Home Base: Middlesbrough
Group D Fixtures:
- WALES - Played on Thursday 27th Oct (NZT) RESULT: Cook Islands 18 - Wales 12
- PAPUA NEW GUINEA - Played on Wednesday 26th (NZT) RESULT: Cook Islands 16 - Papua New Guinea 32
- TONGA - Monday 31st October (1.30am Sydney, 2.30am Avarua, 3.30am Auckland) – Middlesbrough
* It's a must win game for the Cook Islands in order for them to progress through to the Quarters. They'll be without their Centre Anthony Gelling as he's had to leave early to attend to personal matters in New Zealand.
The Cook Islands qualified with a play-off victory over the United States in Florida back in 2019, taking revenge for a group stage defeat at the 2013 World Cup by the same opponents. If that game is anything to go by, then viewers will be in for a treat.
Coach Tony Iro may be a tad disappointed to be without the services of Valentine Holmes, eligible through his mother but ultimately opting to play for Australia. Nonetheless, the Kukis will fancy their chances against a depleted Wales team in their opening game. Then follows two tough games against Papua New Guinea and Tonga – the latter taking place in Middlesbrough, the team’s home base for the World Cup and the birthplace of that Captain Cook.
They struggled in the mid-season game against Samoa, but were without a number of European-based players (except for Tinirau Arona, who missed domestic action and flew of his own accord to represent his country). The likes of Johnathan Ford, Brad Takairangi and Dominic Peyroux that will add experience at an international level and of British playing conditions.
The experience of the squad stems from seven-time State of Origin representative Dylan Napa to Geoffrey Daniela of St Marys Saints in the lower leagues of New South Wales, encompassing 13-year Cook Island stalwart Ford through to young, prospective back Kayal Iro (nephew of coach Tony).
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FIJI
Home Base: Hull
Group B Fixtures:
- AUSTRALIA - Played on Sunday 16th Oct (NZT) RESULT: Australia 42 - Fiji 8
- ITALY - Played on Sunday 23rd October (NZT) RESULT: Fiji 60 - Italy 4
- SCOTLAND - Sunday 30th October (4am Sydney, 5am Suva, 6am Auckland) – Newcastle
* Must win game for Fiji in order for them to progress to the Quarter Finals.
Fiji will certainly be hoping that the tone of the tournament does not match their opening days in England. In the build up to the tournament, English rugby league’s top administrator Ralph Rimmer was filmed using “unacceptable language” at an official event, saying that “Fiji have already arrived. We don’t think anybody has been arrested yet, do we?” An internal investigation resulted in no sanction being placed on the RFL CEO, an effective whitewashing exercise that undermines the governing body’s anti-racism messages and brings into question the tournament’s stated aim of being the most inclusive yet.
On the field matters haven’t been much better, with England defeating Fiji 50-0 in a warmup fixture last Saturday. There is no respite in the schedule, with an opener against tournament-favourites Australia. In their previous four World Cup meetings, Australia have won by a cumulative 204-8 and the Bati will have to quickly learn some tough lessons from the England game to stand any chance of matching the Kangaroos.
But they will be boosted by Mal Meninga’s omission of players that featured in the NRL Grand Final, ever so slightly weakening Australia and providing all the motivation needed for the Fijians. They will themselves be replete with three players from the Grand Final in the form of victorious Penrith duo Api Koroisau and Viliame Kikau, as well as Parramatta’s Maika Sivo.
With games against Scotland and Italy to follow, the ambition should at least be for a quarter-final spot, with a game against New Zealand the likely outcome. It may be churlish to claim that the semis are a step too far for a side that has made the last four on the previous three occasions, not to mention beating New Zealand in the quarter-finals in 2017. But this is a much fancied and reinvigorated Kiwis side that could go all the way.
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PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Home Base: Warrington
Group D Fixtures:
- TONGA - Played on Wednesday 19th October RESULT: Tonga 24 - Papua New Guinea 18
- COOK ISLANDS - Played on Wednesday 26th October NZT RESULT: Papua New Guinea 32 - Cook Islands 16
- WALES - Tuesday 1st November (5.30am Port Moresby, 6.30am Sydney, 8.30am Auckland) – Doncaster
* If Papua New Guinea are able to beat Wales they'll secure a spot in the Quarter Finals.
Depending on how one views the sovereign status of the Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea can claim to be the only country in which rugby league is the national sport. And yet this rugby league-mad nation has never made the semi-finals of a World Cup. However, 2022 may offer the best opportunity yet, with no skewered draw and a squad replete with world-class talent.
They possess this year’s NRL top tryscorer in Alex Johnson, whilst Melbourne’s Xavier Coates on the other wing also didn’t do too badly with 16 tries in 17 appearances. His Melbourne teammate Justin Olam is an NRL winner and two-time minor premiership champion, whilst a whole host of England-based players will help the team acclimatise to autumnal conditions and the style of play of any European opposition.
The opening clash with Tonga promises to be one for the ages, whilst progress to the quarter-finals will see them in all probability play either England or Samoa. In truth, they would probably be underdogs, but by no means is progress to the semi-finals for the first time beyond the realms of possibility. They famously recorded a 28-10 victory over a Great Britain side primarily comprised of English players in Port Moresby back in 2019. And whilst they may have fewer bona fide NRL starters than group rivals Tonga or would-be opponents Samoa, their dominant victory over an NRL-studded Fiji demonstrates that it is not the only metric by which results can be predicted.
The PNG Hunters side in the Queensland Cup, bringing together the best domestic talent in one side to play one level below NRL, is bearing fruit, as demonstrated by over half of the 24 man squad having played for the Hunters at one stage or another. Not only is it gratification for years of hard work, but it should ensure players are familiar with the style demanded by coach Stanley Tepend (also coach of the Hunters).
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SAMOA
Home base: Doncaster
Group A Fixtures:
- ENGLAND - Played Sunday 16th October RESULT: England 60 - Samoa 6
- GREECE - Played Monday 24th October RESULT: Samoa 72 - Greece 4
- FRANCE - Monday 31st October (4am Sydney, 6am Auckland/Apia) – Warrington
* Must win game for the boys against France to be able to progress through to the Quarters. If they can hold off the French they'll meet Tonga for a Poly Quarter Finals face off.
Name pronounciations by the boys - commentators take note!
When the Duke of Sussex drew Samoa as England’s opening match at Buckingham Palace way back in January 2020, no one then would have envisaged Toa Samoa offering a tight game, let alone emerging as favourites. But with the aforementioned wave of players opting for their ancestral homelands, including the majority of back-to-back NRL champions Penrith’s backline, Samoa’s chances have increased inexorably, to the point where they feature as genuine contenders to win the tournament.
The 2017 tournament was marred by accusations that players were, in contrast to Tonga, not given adequate time and space to explore and celebrate their heritage. They also controversially made the quarter-finals despite not winning a game, thanks to the contrived nature of the draw. Neither is in danger of being repeated, particularly with games against France and Greece, but the question is whether they finish first or second, and if they start as they mean to go on.
When England travelled to Sydney to face Samoa midseason before the 2017 World Cup, Australian commentators saw the comparative lack of NRL players for England and declared Samoa favourites. England won 30-10. Despite the abundance of talent at head coach Matt Parish’s disposal, the squad only recently landed in the UK, and will not play a warmup game. England’s squad have been training since the end of September, have run out against southern hemisphere opposition, will be familiar with conditions and have the backing of a partisan home crowd at the 50,000-seater St James Park in Newcastle.
With this Samoa side, anything from ultimate glory to an ignominious defeat in the group stages is possible. But with champion talent like Jarome Luai, Stephen Crichton, Joseph Sua’ali’I and Junior Paulo at their disposal, it is easy to be more inclined to the former outcome. From the neutral perspective, it is certainly a more captivating story.
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TONGA
Home base: St Helens
Group D Fixtures:
- PAPUA NEW GUINEA - Played Wednesday 19th October RESULT: Tonga 24 - Papua New Guinea 18
- WALES - Played Tuesday 25th October NZT RESULT: Tonga 32 - Wales 6
- COOK ISLANDS - Monday 31st October (3.30 am Sydney, 5.30am Auckland/Nuku’alofa) – Middlesbrough
Tonga are the only Pacific team who are already through to the Quarter Finals.
With a feeling that Samoa are following in Tonga’s footsteps from 2017, it is perhaps understandable that focus has been on the Polynesian blue rather than the now-established red of Mate Ma’a Tonga. But this side have if anything improved from their last World Cup performance, and will be looking to go even further this time round.
Tonga comprehensively won a war-up game against France on Sunday, and will be hoping to take that performance into their opener against Papua New Guinea. That takes place at St Helens, the club that head coach Kristian Woolf has also been managing, winning three back-to-back Grand Finals and off to pastures new with the Dolphins next season. Saints players Konrad Hurrell and Will Hopoate will welcome NRL superstars like Taumalolo, Felise Kaufusi and Keaon Koloamatangi with a general mood that there is no limit to how far this side can go.
There’s a tough route to victory, with a potential Polynesian clash against Samoa in the quarterfinals. But Tonga have beaten all the opponents that they could face in the knockout stages within the past five years, triumphing against rivals Samoa in Hamilton back in 2017. They beat Great Britain when they toured the southern hemisphere in 2019, before going on to defeat Australia the following week.
Some of their star players are at the peak of their powers, so there have been suggestions that this may be the best, or indeed only opportunity for this current crop of players to win the trophy. But simply by foregoing the paycheques on offer from Australia and New Zealand, players like Taumalolo have set the groundwork to inspire the next generation of Tongan talent. The domestic Tongan tournament was renamed the Jason Taumalolo Cup after their run to the semi-finals, whilst their 2019 victories saw a national holiday declared in the Kingdom. One has to wonder just what the reaction will be like if they do go on to win. Sometimes, it’s good to dream.
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