Kangaroos star Reagan Campbell-Gillard believes he might need to strike a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Samoa skipper Junior Paulo ahead of the World Cup final.
Campbell-Gillard and Paulo are teammates at NRL level, but will go up against each other in the final, which will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester, Sunday 3am AEDT.
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Paulo has inspired a somewhat surprising World Cup campaign as Samoa’s captain. In the five game he’s played, the barnstorming forward has scored a try, set up another and averaged 81 metres per game. He’s also only missed two tackles throughout the tournament despite averaging 21 tackles a game.
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Speaking to Fox League’s World Cup preview show, Campbell Gillard conceded he’s a little wary of Paulo.
“I’m always ready with whatever. It’s international football and they’re there for a reason,” he said.
“But I’ll have to probably give him a little message, a little gentlemen’s agreement to make sure he doesn’t take my head off.
“He’s a massive part of that team and he’s my little, small mate at club land. I’m very happy for him and Samoa to get into that final but come Saturday it should be fun.”
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Australia got a bit of a scare in the semi-final against New Zealand and the forward pack in particular were showed up.
It was Campbell-Gillard’s first time going up against the Kiwis and he believes: “It’s definitely up there with one of the toughest games I’ve been a part of and played.”
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He expects Samoa’s pack will be just as aggressive.
“They’re a physical pack across the whole park including from wingers to fullbacks so I’m sure Junior and the Samoans are going to come out firing,” Campbell-Gillard said.
“We’ve just got to make sure we’re matching that, it should be a very good game.”
