Favouritism and forward packs: Samoa and England ready to launch RLWC2021

Although Toa Samoa may have received a warm welcome from Doncaster locals, including a civic reception at the town hall, they won’t be as accommodating to their hosts when they take on England in the opening match of this year’s Rugby League World Cup tournament.

After assembling a formidable squad, expectations are for Samoa to emulate the feats of Tonga who have produced a number of outstanding performances to topple all three Tier 1 nations in recent seasons, starting with a win against England.

Speaking at the recent Rugby League World Cup media launch, captain Junior Paulo said his side were enjoying their new home base and seeing the sights.

“We are quite liking where we are at the moment, it’s a bit lowkey for us, so it’s quite nice,” Paulo said.

“That (photo outside the kebab shop) was probably the first outing we got to go out and experience Doncaster, I think the people have been quite warm and welcoming and certainly embracing that rugby league is here for the next couple of weeks.

“We speak about the social impact of what rugby league can have on the communities, and they have definitely embraced us.”

With excitement building for the kick-off, tournament hosts England were preparing to face a physical challenge, with both countries praising their opposition forward packs.

“They have big athletes, no question about that, we are a different breed, we are not as big, but we are very athletic, and we have things in our game we believe can trouble Samoa, and that’s what we have to do on Saturday,” England coach Shaun Wane said.

“No question, man-for-man, they are 10-15 kilos heavier, but we need to be technically good; there’s certain things we have been working on that we need to excel at. If we do that, we will more than trouble them on Saturday, I promise you that.”

Paulo noted the big win England produced against Fiji in their warm-up match, with forwards including Luke Thompson and Mike McMeeken crossing for tries in the 50-0 victory.

“It’s certainly been noted that they are a quality forward pack and have been for the past few decades in international rugby league,” Paulo said.

“In that warm-up game, they certainly powered through the middle, so it’s going to be a big challenge, but it’s one we are looking forward to.”

Both sides also agreed that this year’s tournament would provide arguably the strongest competition ever.

“We know this year; we’ll have to be better than we have ever been before because it’s the toughest competition it’s ever been before,” England captain Sam Tomkins said.

“Whoever wins is going to deserve it, because there are some really good teams in this group.”

Samoa coach Matt Parish also rebuked questions about his side being favourites to take the win against the hosts in the opening round match.

“With the teams that are competing, it’s by far the strongest World Cup ever, it’s the most even,” Parish said.

“It’s exciting to be part of, we have got some confidence, but we have got plenty of work to do too.

“We are all excited to be here, we are really excited to be part of the first game, and we are looking forward to playing England, they are a great team.

“The upset would be Samoa beating England, it’s never happened before.

“(The game is) going to be tough; it’s going to be very physical; it’s going to be a physical game.

“I have no doubt they are a proud nation; they are playing at home, they have a coach who has won many championships over here, their captain is one of the best players in the world, it’s going to be tough.”