Junior Paulo proudly recalls Samoa winning the 2009-10 rugby sevens world series, but victory in Sunday’s Pacific Championships final over New Zealand would trump that as the tiny nation’s greatest sporting triumph.
Samoa’s population last year was listed at about 218,000, but they’ve got no shortage of rugby league stars with the team making the 2022 World Cup final where they received support from Hollywood icon and wrestling legend Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
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Their sevens success more than a decade ago is still spoken about today, but rugby league has now captured the love of the nation, with more than 15,000 fans expected at a fan day in Sydney on Tuesday.
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A sea of blue will wash over CommBank Stadium for the final on Sunday, with halfback Jarome Luai declaring it would be one of the biggest wins of his career having enjoyed so much success with Penrith and NSW.
“It would be huge. It hasn’t been done before,” he said.
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“I’m a bit of a realist and I understand there’s a lot of work to be done before we can even think about it, but it’d be nice for our small nation.
“It’s right up there, but every time I wear this jersey it’s a big game for me regardless of what’s at the end of the match. Any time you put this jersey on, it’s a big game.”
Paulo proudly leads the Siva Tau war dance before games and has found another gear in this tournament to help his side reach another major final.
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“It would be a massive milestone for Samoa rugby league in general,” he replied when asked what it would mean if they won.
“There’s a lot of preparation that goes before it. Although the vision is to be at the end of the game holding the trophy, you’ve got to be able to put in the work.
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“It’s all about locking in for the week and taking each day as it comes.”
Samoa went down to the Kiwis 24-18 in their first meeting and then outclassed fierce rivals Tonga to book their spot in the final, but Luai concedes this will be an even greater challenge against a New Zealand side that boasts talent across the park.
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“I think to get that first game under our belt was big for us to get that out of the way,” he said, with Samoa one of the favourites for next year’s World Cup with several stars pledging their allegiance.
“We learnt a lot of lessons going into Tonga and we implemented that well.
“The Kiwis in the final might be a different beast so we need to prepare well.”
While Paulo’s focus is solely on this game, he is looking forward to playing alongside Jonah Pezet for one season at the Eels after the playmaker left the Storm for more opportunities.
Storm assistant coach Ryan Hinchcliffe is part of the Samoa staff and has already told Paulo plenty about the promising halfback who will head to Sydney for a year before he joins the Broncos.
“It’s great news for the club,” Paulo said.
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“I think the times that he has played this year, he’s certainly controlled the game. He’s a well-established first-grader now, so it’s a good signing for us.
“I haven’t met him, but it looks like he can’t wait to get there because I’ve only heard good raps.”
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