Manchester: Jarome Luai and Stephen Crichton have revealed how Samoa transformed into a World Cup contender, and they’ve called for tier one status – but not at the expense of their Origin jerseys.
The conversations to emulate Tonga and make Samoa a powerhouse – by recruiting NRL players with Pacific Islands heritage – started at the Panthers last year.
Penrith players Luai, Crichton, Brian To’o, Taylan May and Spencer Leniu made a pact to play for Samoa, and soon started recruiting rival NRL stars after their games during the season.
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By the time World Cup squads were announced, Samoa had assembled one of the strongest sides in the tournament.
Skipper Junior Paulo and teenage superstar Joseph Suaalii both chose Samoa over Australia, while Josh Papalii has previously represented the Kangaroos.
The 17 who will run out and face in the final against Australia at Old Trafford on Sunday AEDT are all NRL players.
Clinching a spot in the decider marks a stunning turnaround for Samoa, who failed to win a game at the 2017 World Cup.
Luai believes this side can go one step further and cause the biggest upset in international rugby league history.
“It started at Penrith for me and the other boys. We made a commitment to each other that when the time came, we were going to play for Samoa,” Luai said.
“It’s all come to fruition and we’ve done something really special together, but the job’s not finished.
“Belief got us this far, not many people did believe in us but within our group there’s plenty of that.
“We’re always going to believe we can shake the comp up and we’re here right now, so why not win it.”
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Crichton revealed the Samoan movement gained momentum throughout the NRL season as players encouraged each other to pledge their allegiance.
“After every game you have those little chats… the boys would say little things like ‘see you at the end of the year’,” he said.
“So you get that little bit more confident and then you see them pledge and it’s exciting.”
Crichton revealed his and Luai’s ecstatic reaction when finding out Suaalii had chosen Samoa over Australia.
“I was playing golf with (Luai) and I was scrolling through Instagram and it came up that he announced and me and Romey were just screaming on the golf course,” he said.
“We were going off, we were just keen as.”
Crichton said his decision was straightforward, but he praised the Australian-born players whose defections have helped create history.
“I was talking to a few of the boys throughout the season and the boys that really wanted to play made that decision and this is what we strived for – to put our little country on the map,” Crichton said.
“Credit to the boys that had the opportunity to go play elsewhere and chose the motherland.
“It means a lot. The boys made the decision to play for Samoa and our people definitely appreciate it
“I was born in Samoa, I’m blood and blood through so I definitely took my decision by heart and this is the whole reason for it.
“I’m happy with my decision and proud of where I came from.
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“I came over when I was two and the NRL and Australia have (been great) but Samoa has given me a massive opportunity to represent my family and I owe it to my mum and dad and my grandma back in Samoa.
“Dad is one of 14 and mum is one of 11, they’re all scattered around the globe and a lot of my family I haven’t met yet, so I’m getting a lot of messages calling me cousin.”
Samoa are chasing tier one status (Australia, England and New Zealand) which under the current rules would make their players ineligible for Origin selection.
Crichton, who grew up in Sydney and plays for NSW, joined England star Victor Radley in calling for the Origin eligibility rules to be changed.
“(Tier one) has been the end goal since the boys made the decision to come and play for Samoa,” Crichton said.
“It would be hard for the boys to make that choice (between playing Origin or for Samoa) but that is the plan.
“Having been born in Samoa, I want to represent mum and dad. But with Origin I definitely also want to represent where I grew up and hopefully there is a change (in the rules) if we become tier one.”
