England's World Cup pool is about to get a whole lot tougher
England’s bid for Rugby World Cup glory in France next year is about to become tougher with Samoa aiming to add former All Blacks Lima Sopoaga and Steve Luatua to their Pacific Nations Cup winning squad, although including 103 cap Ma’a Nonu looks unlikely.
Head coach Seilala Mapusua has revealed his plans to RugbyPass as he plots his nation’s challenge in France in 2023 where they are in Pool D with England, Argentina, Japan, and Chile.
Mapusua hopes to have Bristol’s Luatua and Sopoaga, the former Highlanders and Wasps outside half who is now with Lyon in France, available for their November tests which see the Pacific Islands nation take on Italy, Georgia and Romania.
Many Samoan fans would also like to see 40-years-old All Blacks legend Nonu drafted in but Mapusua said: “Ma’a Nonu has been on Samoa’s wish list for about 20 years but he is now 40 years old and we have some great mid-fielders coming through and it is about enhancing what we have started.”
Having beaten hosts Fiji, Tonga and Australia A to win the PNC, Mapusua is eager to test his players against Tier 1 nations but has to be content with just one fixture against Italy who are currently World ranked No14 which puts them three places below Samoa.
The Samoan squad flew under the radar at the PNC as attention was focused on Tonga who were featuring Israel Folau, Charles Piutau and Malaki Fekitoa who had all switched countries following World Rugby’s new qualification criteria that allows a player to play for another country – if he satisfies the criteria – having not played international rugby for three years.
Sopoaga won the last of his 16 All Blacks caps in 2017 while Luatua won his 15th cap for New Zealand in 2016 against Italy and they would join a Samoa squad that already includes recent arrivals Fritz Lee, who has enjoyed stellar career with Clermont Auvergne and former New Zealand U20 cap Jordan Taufua who plays at Lyon.
The squad has been bolstered by the inclusion of players now part of the Moana Pasifika Super Rugby Pacific squad which has ensured the step up to test rugby is not so daunting.
Adding Sopoaga and Luatua is the next step for Mapusua in his bid to change perceptions about Samoa and make them a viable option for dual-qualified players, particularly in New Zealand. The 33 times capped former Samoa centre told RugbyPass: “Steven Luatua would be a great acquisition for us and it will be a good problem to have him, Fritz Lee, Jordan Taufua, Henry Stowers all available with the guys who are already important members of our squad.
“Lima is a possibility as well and it is about working with the guys who have a genuine desire to be part of the squad. It is not just about throwing ex-All Blacks in there when they are eligible.
“Jordan was always eligible for Samoa and last year he was injured and it was great to finally get him on the pitch. We also have Fritz Lee from Clermont and having those two with their vast experience was awesome because they are class players and with the eligibility changes doesn’t mean everything changes overnight but there are a few more I am speaking to that will be if fit and ready and we will see them in November.”
Mapusua’s aim is to make Samoa the first choice for young qualified players and he believes getting Moana Pasifika into the Super Rugby Pacific tournament has been key to helping win the PNC in Fiji.
He added: “We wouldn’t have gone to Fiji if we didn’t think we could have won the Cup. The key for us was that it would have to be a squad effort to win it and we knew that there was a lot of talk about Tonga and Fiji and that Australia A would be tough and had to make the belief was there for us. We pulled tight really early and got the boys to understand their purpose and it narrow our focus and build into the games.
“The boys are in much better condition than we have been in the past thanks to Moana Pasifika and while that first season was always going to be tough for them having seven months as a professional player and living and breathing that was massive for us. The players weren’t coming straight from club rugby to test rugby and it allowed us to spend less time getting the boys to catch up and more time on how we wanted to play.
“We have tests in November with Italy, Georgia and Romania and between now and the World Cup our only Tier One match is with Italy which is frustrating. We would love a few harder games and we are trying to organise some outside the test windows but bringing all our guys together is tough. I can only focus on how to keep improving our squad.
“The only way to change perceptions about Samoa is through our results and one of the key areas since I took this role was to create something players want to be part of. Pulling on heartstrings, making themselves available for Samoa – I want every eligible player to choose the blue jersey. I hope we are on that pathway where boys chose to represent Samoa before any other country.”
Having won the PNC while New Zealand lost a home test series to Ireland suggests Mapusua could offer under-fire All Blacks coach Ian Foster a few tips about winning international matches. “I am still contacting him for advice and I haven’t been in the coaching game long enough to give anyone advice. I am just happy to keep learning.”
Comments on RugbyPass
🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
27 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
27 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
27 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
27 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
27 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
11 Go to comments