'Domino effect': Luai to lead Samoa as more big names ponder switch

Jarome Luai will cap a remarkable season by captaining Samoa, as more big names prepare to join Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Jeremiah Nanai in switching allegiances ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Luai, who was a key figure in Penrith's fourth premiership win and NSW's historic Origin series win, will lead the a Samoa team in England which includes Tuivasa-Sheck, Nanai, Deine Mariner and Blaize Talagi among 11 debutants.

Samoa will play England in two Tests at Wigan on October 27 and Leeds on November 2 in what has been dubbed a "revenge" tour after the Pacific nation upset the hosts in the semi-final of the World Cup in 2022.

Samoa coach Ben Gardiner unveiled a star-studded squad for the tour, despite the unavailability of up to 13 big name players, who are believed to have included NSW and Australian prop Payne Haas.

The Broncos star is sidelined by a Lisfranc injury sustained in the Round 22 match against the Cowboys but he has shared and liked posts on Samoa's social media accounts.

Gardiner said Tuivasa-Sheck's decision to play for Samoa ahead of New Zealand, whom he represented in 20 Tests from 2013 to 2019 before his switch to rugby union, helped convince Nanai to represent the Pacific nation.

“When you bring Roger Tuivasa-Sheck into your side, you bring one of the best players from both codes into your team, so for him to want to represent Samoa this year and moving forward, there are some other players who aren’t available for this tour and other players who were able to jump ship," Gardiner said.

"Jeremiah was one of those. I said to Jeremiah that Roger is playing and he said, ‘well, I’m definitely playing too’.

"It is a little bit of a domino effect when you have elite players come into your team, so hopefully that is one of many into the future."

After returning to the Warriors this season, Tuiavasa-Sheck wanted to fulfil a long-held desire to represent Samoa and told Gardiner he was available for the end-of-season tour to England.

“He has been nothing but positive and we have had a number of conversations with him about team selections and who is going to be in the team and who is going to go on the tour," Gardiner said.

I am really excited to have a senior player of that ability in our team.

"Not only does he play well on the field, he has got great high performance standards, so on and off the field he is excellent and there are some young guys on this tour who will learn a lot off Roger."

Broncos centre Deine Mariner is another who knocked back a Kiwis jersey to play for Samoa, while Nanai, who was a member of this year's Queensland Origin team, represented Australia at the World Cup in 2022.

“Jeremiah Nanai is one of the great backrowers in the comp. He can score a try from nothing and to be able to have a guy like that in our team says a lot about where Samoa is going," Gardiner said.

Tuivasa-Sheck's decision is a massive boost for Samoa, who became the first Pacific nation to reach a World Cup final in 2022 with a line-up that included Luai, Crichton and To’o.

Luai, who has joined Wests Tigers, will now return to England as captain after winning his fourth consecutive premiership with Penrith and playing a key role in NSW's Origin defeat of Queensland.

"It was really nice to have a conversation with him after the grand final on Sunday night and obviously he was very excited about winning the grand final for the fourth time in a row," Gardiner said.

"But to then be able to tell him that he was going to not only represent his country again but captain his country for the first time, that was a really nice conversation to have.

"Jarome, as we all know, is a guy who is full of energy, he has definitely put his best foot forward and it is a great opportunity for him to showcase not only his talent but also his leadership skills for his country."

To'o, who injured his knee in Sunday night's grand final, was one of the stars unavailable for the tour, along with Crichton, who is getting married next week.

Spencer Leniu, Royce Hunt, Junior Paulo, Jaydn Su'A and Stefano Utoikamanu are among the other players unavailable for the tour. 

However, the depth Samoa boasts was highlighted by the selection of Luai's replacement at the Panthers, Blaize Talagi, for his international debut. 

“Deine said to me, 'all I want to do is represent Samoa - Samoa is my heritage and Samoa is my country - and I’ll do anything I possibly can to represent the country'," Gardiner said.

“I think that not only does he offer a lot as a football player, but he has a great understanding of his culture and his heritage.

"He is very fast and brings a lot of positive attributes as a player so I think he is going to add a lot to our team and is definitely a player of the future.

“Blaize is just one of the elite players of the game that is coming through, obviously he has a lot of versatility with his ability to play a number of positions and that is one of the reasons we want to select Blaize.

"I asked Blaize what he wanted to do in regards to international representation and he said I definitely want to represent Samoa, that’s the team I want to playing for and working for leading into the World Cup in 2026.

“It’s pretty nice as a coach to have two guys like that who are young up and comers, and great league players, and want to represent the jersey and travel with us on tour.”

The Samoa squad will assemble in Sydney next week, with a number of players to attend Crichton's wedding on Thursday, and will have a training session before flying to England on October 19.

Samoa squad to tour England

Anthony Milford (Dolphins)
Blaize Talagi (Penrith Panthers)
Deine Mariner (Brisbane Broncos)
Francis Molo (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Gordon Chan Kum Tong (Manly Sea Eagles)
Izack Tago (Penrith Panthers)
Jake Tago (Parramatta Eels)
Jarome Luai (Wests Tigers)
Jazz Tevaga (Manly Sea Eagles)
Jeral Skelton (Wests Tigers)
Jeremiah Nanai (North Queensland Cowboys)
John Asiata (Leigh Leopards)
Josiah Pahulu (Gold Coast Titans)
Junior Pauga (Sydney Roosters)
Keenan Palasia (Leeds Rhinos)
Lazarus Vaalepu (Melbourne Storm)
Luciano Leilua (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Paul Roache (Warriors)
Ricky Leutele (Leigh Leopards)
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Warriors)
Shawn Blore (Melbourne Storm)
Simi Sasagi (Canberra Raiders)
Terrell May (Sydney Roosters)