WARRINGTON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 30: Josh Suaali’i of Samoa looks to break past Matthieu Laguerre of France during Rugby League World Cup 2021 Pool A match between Samoa and France at The Halliwell Jones Stadium on October 30, 2022 in Warrington, England. (Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images for RLWC)
Samoa know they’ll need to be significantly improved if they’re to have any chance of exacting revenge on an England side that beat them by 60 points in the World Cup-opening clash just a few weeks ago.
According to teenage sensation Joseph Suaali’i, the humbling experience is driving the Pacific nation and they haven’t forgotten the pain that opening loss caused, admitting that despite their strength on paper, they may have come into the tournament underprepared as a team.
“We came in with a lot of expectation and a lot of pressure after putting together a great team,” Suaali’i told Newscorp.
“We didn’t really train that much together. It was king of like ‘rock up and hope for the best’. England played their hearts out and played a good game.
“But we weren’t there on that day. I think that’s probably the best thing that happened to us, the loss. It humbled us and gave us a platform to go and play against Greece, France and Tonga.
“Since (the loss) we’ve built our connections and combos. I believe that we can beat England, even though they’re a very good team.
“The game against Tonga was big, but coming into the semi-finals we want to step it up another level. The end goal for us is to win.”
Suaali’i could have missed the contest after he was placed on report for leading with his knees while in attack against Samoa – an issue he’s been pulled up on before, with the NRL previously serving him with a warning.
Though the technique has drawn negative attention, Suaali’I insists there’s no malice behind it and change is hopefully on the way.
“It’s the way I’ve been running my whole life,” he said.
“I never got in trouble for it when I was younger. Obviously now there is a dangerous part of it.
“It’s about controlling how I run. I’m not intentionally meaning to do it. It’s about not changing my technique, but running with my knee not as high.
“I’m trying to eliminate it from my game.”
Source:: ZeroTackle
