England coach Shaun Wane has made the extraordinary claim that the World Cup hosts are underdogs against a Samoa side they thrashed by 54 points four weeks ago because the Pacific nation had more players involved in the NRL grand final.
Samoa, whose hopes of an historic World Cup final berth have been bolstered by captain Junior Paulo’s judiciary win, overcame their opening defeat to qualify for the semi-final at Emirates Stadium by beating Tonga 20-18 last weekend.
Roosters lock Victor Radley said club-mate Joseph Sua’ali’i had been Samoa’s best player, while Paulo, Eel forward Oregon Kaufusi and Penrith's Jarome Luai, Brian To’o, Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu played in the NRL grand final.
Yet England have had the best preparation of any team at the World Cup and a smooth run to the semi-final after humbling Samoa 60-6 and beating France 42-18, Greece 94-4 and Papua New Guinea 46-6.
“We’ve never mentioned the first game, everything’s been about Samoa and Tonga when they’ve been playing really well, so we’ve not even referenced the first game at Newcastle,” Wane said.
“We know this team we’ll play on Saturday will be a different team, they’re talented, they’ve got a lot of really, really good players from the NRL and they’re going to challenge us, and we’ve got to be ready.
“I know their individuals very well, I watch all the NRL so I knew they would improve massively, and I know most of the coaching staff and that’s what’s happened.
Match Highlights: England v Toa Samoa
“They have improved, not in a particular area, but I think every individual is playing better, no shadow of a doubt.”
After revealing that he had engaged a series of speakers to address the team before each World Cup game about “resilience, underdog and people not expecting you to do anything”, Wane was asked whether England considered themselves to be underdogs.
“You look at Samoa and they have got six or seven players who played in the NRL grand final,” Wane said. “The NRL is a fantastic competition, it is something which I look up to and learn a lot from and admire.
“We didn’t have anyone in our team [in the NRL grand final], so the fact is that on paper they have got some great players in their team. So does New Zealand and so do Australia, so we do look at ourselves that way.”
Radley, who was man-of-the-match in the opening match at St James Park, said he had watched Samoa’s defeat of Tonga and predicted a physical contest in London.
“They are going to be stronger, and we are stronger as well,” he said. “They are big, powerful lads, who are talented. It’s going to take 17 hard Englishmen to stop them and that is what we have got.”
Sua’ali’i has starred at fullback for Samoa and set the platform for a 59th minute To’o try after breaking through the defence with a powerful run from deep inside his own half.
Match Highlights: Tonga v Samoa
Besides Australian captain James Tedesco and centre Joey Manu, who also plays fullback for New Zealand, Radley said Sua'ali'i had been the Roosters best player this season and he has carried that form into the World Cup.
“He is a young freak,” Radley said. “He has been good for us this year and he has been good in this tournament – he has been their best player.
"He is going to run hard, you know what is coming so we are going to get in front of him and then hit him hard.
“He is a really good player, a really tough player and a skilful player. Everyone says he is a once in a generation [player], and he is. We are going to have to do a job on him. We have looked at him and we know what is coming, so we will take care of it.
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“He is a good private school kid, a really nice fellow, I couldn’t’ say a bad word about him. He has been their best player and other than probably Teddy and Joey [Manu] he has been our best player this season.”
England prop Tom Burgess welcomed the exoneration of Paulo at the judiciary and said he would make a big difference to Samoa.
"He is their captain, he plays big minutes, he is a great player and he led Parramatta to a grand final this year, so he is massive for them," Burgess said. "I didn’t really see the incident but … just let him play."