'Our Origin': Samoa-Tonga rivalry a lure for stars
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Toa Samoa coach Ben Gardiner believes the State of Origin-like rivalry with Tonga is a massive lure for big name stars like Payne Haas choosing to represent their Pacific heritage.
Haas, the superstar Broncos and NSW Origin prop, has confirmed he will play for Samoa at the end-of-season Pacific Championships and next year’s World Cup, while Roosters and Queensland centre Rob Toia has pledged his allegiance to Tonga.
Samoa and Tonga will meet for the first time on Australian soil since 2018 and unlike their previous matches at Campbelltown or on the Gold Coast, the October 26 Test is at Suncorp Stadium before a potential 50,000 crowd.
“The boys have wanted this game for years, so they are really excited,” Gardiner told 94ddz.com.
They see it as another form of Origin and I’m pretty sure everyone else sees it the same way.
“Games between Samoa and Tonga have always been closely fought affairs because there is a loving hatred of each other, and there will be a really good quality of players in both teams, so we are expecting it to be huge.
“It will fill a big stadium and there will be a bloody good atmosphere.”
After becoming the first Pacific nation to qualify for a World Cup final in 2022, Samoa have suffered losses to Australia, New Zealand and England but Gardiner has viewed those matches as opportunities to build his squad for RLWC2026.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Jeremiah Nanai and Murray Taulagi have switched their allegiances to Samoa since the last World Cup and the addition of Haas, and possibly Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, will help instil a winning culture.
Samoa face the Kiwis at Go Media Stadium on October 19 before the much-anticipated clash with Tonga at Suncorp Stadium on October 26 and are aiming for a berth in the Pacific Cup final at CommBank Stadium on November 9.
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“It is a real Pacific Championships, a real test of the best of the Pacific,” Gardiner said. “Obviously Australia is going to England but from a Samoan point of view it will be a good chance to test ourselves against the other top teams in the Pacific.
“We played New Zealand two years ago in the Pacific Championships and we didn’t go that well so it will be a good look for us not only players bit also staff to see where we are and how far we have come against a really strong side.
“We have already started to build cohesion over the last two years and this year will be about doing that again to then put us in the best position for the World Cup.
“We want to go out and win some games as a group, build not only a good culture within the camp and the high-performance culture, but build a winning culture to then take that in the World Cup and put us in the best position to go out and win that as well.”
The Kiwis won the 2023 Pacific Championships after inflicting a record 30-0 defeat on Australia, while Tonga stunned New Zealand 19-18 in Auckland last year to qualify for the Pacific Cup final against the Kangaroos, going down 20-14.
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Jason Taumalolo led a Pacific revolution when he chose to play for Tonga over New Zealand at the 2017 World Cup and Haas’s decision to represent his Samoan heritage is set to have a similar impact.
“I think it's an indication that the international game is growing stronger and players are able to take a step forward and go, ‘I want to represent my heritage and my background’,” Gardiner said.
“To be able to bring all players into that, whatever level of exposure they've had throughout their life and be able to learn about their heritage and their history, as well as play rugby league, that's pretty cool, I reckon.
“Jason doing that several years ago back, that was a great opportunity for Tonga, but now we represent our own moment here for Toa Samoa.
“Payne is not just one of the best players in the world, he is a really good person that cares about what we're doing as a group and wants our team to do well. That’s just as important as his playing ability.”
Match: Toa Samoa v Tonga XIII
Round 2 -
home Team
Toa Samoa
away Team
Tonga XIII
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
