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WARRINGTON – If you book your flight now, the jetlag may have worn off starting next Sunday. It will be worth the trip.
The game that will stop the rugby league world has begun: After a brief wobble at the start of the tournament, Samoa and Tonga will meet at this point for a week today.
Matt Parish’s men could have expected a tougher test from France as they secured second place in the group with a massive 62-4 win at Warrington, but after a hit from England in the first weekend and a game against Greece in the second week , be happy for the confidence boost.
This was definitely it. Samoa has beaten France with an impressive hit before, both on the scoreboard and on the field. chanticleers cannot cope with power and tenderness. That’s the Samoa we thought we’d get.
Brian To’o was phenomenal, scoring two goals and scaring the French with 258m yards, Tim Lafai and Taylan May, one of the Super League’s most impressive operators in 2022, almost unstoppable. May scored four goals and could have been more.
Half-match Jarome Luai and Anthony Milford also came to the party. Luai was the man of the match and played in his famous dinner jacket, while Milford had a fantastic assist for May and scored twice late.
There was time for more fullback drama. Joseph Suaalii has yet to prove himself at the back and while his offensive performance can never be doubted – three assist attempts – his defense can do just that. He missed a simple opening in the defense to give France a chance and then let a 40/20 out which could have resulted in another result.
No response from France. Lafai tapped a Luai hit to round Samoa, and although they couldn’t add to that early on, the physical gap was clear: He might have scored another goal, but he lost his balance and Royce Hunt put Alrix da Costa out with a monster. hit. The game was played exclusively on one half of the field.
After constantly going left, Samoa went right and smart hands saw To’o score from a group of Frenchmen. May then received a phenomenal, cyclical pass from Milford. Unable to get out, France was left without the ball for 10 minutes.
When France finally put up some pressure, the Samoan defense was up to par and May took two more late in the half. The first was about the transport of To’o, which split the middle and released a lever, and the second was the product of Lafai’s work, still inside after the siren had gone.
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In moments of restart, it continued. May took fourth, France sent the kick and Samoa made a wide move on the back line for To’o to score a hat trick.
France responded from Yaha, but the direction of travel remained virtually unchanged, with Milford, Lafai and then Milford again pushing the score north of 60.
