'Passion over pain': Inside Samoa's dramatic three-hour win

As he walked into the dressing room after play was stopped due to lightning and hail, Toa Samoa coach Ben Gardiner recalled the impact of a similar stoppage during the Round 15 NRL match between the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs.

Gardiner, the Panthers assistant coach, was in the crowd at Accor Stadium with his partner, a Bulldogs supporter, and watched as Souths fought back from 18-0 down when play was stopped to just fall short with a 24-18 loss.

Despite not knowing how long the stoppage at Suncorp Stadium in Sunday’s Pacific Championships match would be, Gardiner told his players to stay positive and treat the remaining 20:48min against Tonga like a third half.

As the delay dragged on to 95 minutes, he instructed them to approach it like another match.

Leading 16-0 at the time, Samoa stormed home 34-6 to claim their first win since the World Cup semi-final against England in 2022 and secure a place in the Pacific Cup final on November 9 at CommBank Stadium.

“I thought a crucial moment was during the period of the rain and the hail storm, I think it was down to how do we stay composed and where do we go from there,” Toa co-captain Junior Paulo said.

“I thought that was a big driving factor in nailing what we had to do when we got out there.”

Samoan players danced in the sheds and joked with each other while they waited for the game to resume but once the 15-minute warm-up period began Gardiner and his coaching staff implemented a plan to ensure they were ready to perform.

An estimated 15,000 fans of the 44,682 crowd – the biggest in Australia for a Test not involving the Kangaroos since 1957 - stayed on to watch Samoa end a six-match losing streak.

"I was trying not to cry, I was getting emotional," co-captain Jarome Luai said of the supporters, who cheered and sung for more than three hours from kick-off to full-time.

“We had to find that balance between staying calm and staying present in the moment but also drawing energy from that and that is the difference between just an NRL game or an Origin.

It was one of my favourite games I have ever played in.

“It wasn’t just Samoan fans, it was Tongan as well. A lot of credit to the fans, it just shows how much we mean to the people in our community and that’s where the passion comes from.

“Seeing Samoans and Tongans all around the world running their parades, we get so much motivation from that.

“Everyone speaks about growing the game, we need more Samoa versus Tonga.”

The only concern for Gardiner ahead of the final in two weeks was an ankle injury sustained by Paulo, who refused to come from the field as he led Samoa to victory in a man-of-the-match performance.

Paulo revealed that he had drawn on words from Luai in a pre-match address to the players about how much it means to pull on the Toa jersey.

“It’s passion over pain, as Romy said,” said Paulo, who became the most capped Samoan player at international level.

“On behalf of Toa Samoa, we appreciate all of the love and support. Social media allows us to see all of the parades that have been happening around the world – Samoa, New Zealand, America, Australia.

“That passion that comes from being able to play in front of your people, that’s really hard to define and regardless of the result – whether it is a win ir a loss – our people turn up.”

Samoa will play New Zealand in the final unless Tonga beat the Kiwis by17 points or more at Eden Park on Sunday.