Toa Samoa Head Coach Ben Gardiner has made one change to his squad to face the Kiwis in the 2025 Pacific Championship with the on-form Jeremiah Nanai sadly ruled out of this weekend’s final.
Toa Samoa welcomes back Dragons second rower Jaydn Su’a after missing the game against Tonga last Sunday due to a concussion.
He will start in the second row replacing Jeremiah Nanai who is ruled out of this weekend’s match with a shoulder Injury.
Nanai will be sorely missed by Samoa after his standout performance against Tonga where the 22-year-old scored a double.
Francis Molo and Payne Hass start in the front row with Josh Papali’i off the bench.
Gardiner has seen profit from having Papali’i start off the bench. His injection into the game around the 25 minute mark has proven to give Samoa their second wind.
Jazz Tevaga has again been named to start at Hooker but it is more than likely this will change closer to game day.
As he did against Tonga, Ben Gardiner is likely to start Benaiah Ioelu at hooker and have Tevaga join the bench, and then include him into the middle fowards rotation.
No changes to the backline
Gardiner has named an unchanged backline for this weekends clash with Brian To’o and Murray Taulagi named on the wing.
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Izack Tago and Deine Mariner are named at the centre position with Rodger Tuivasa-Sheck at fullback.
The halves will be the deciding factor in this game and if the pairing of Jarome Luai and Blaize Talagi-Seuala can click into gear this weekend, Samoa will be unstoppable.
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Ata Mariota comes back into the squad, named as the 18th man after he had also been ruled out against Tonga last weekend due to a concussion. The Samoan born prop/second rower is a handy replacement to have should any injuries be picked up by the starting 17.
Ativalu Lisati, Clayton Faulalo and Lyhkan King-Togia are also named on the extended bench.
Toa Samoa will look to create an historic victory in the Pacific Championship final this weekend in Sydney.
Tuesday afternoon saw thousands of Pacific fans head to the Sydney Dragway, Ferris Road to catch a glimpse of their Toa Samoa players at an action-packed fan day.
Co Captain and Player of the Match against Tonga, Junior Paulo, called for fans to be safe during fan parades, especially for our children.
Samoa’s Acting Police Commissioner has said there will be no permit issued for fan parades in Samoa despite parades being organised across New Zealand, Australia, American Samoa and other major cities with a high population of Samoa diaspora.
Some of the youngest Toa Samoa fans spotted at fan day!
BJ is a part-time sports reporter who loves rugby and rugby league. He has a Bachelor of Business majoring in Accounting from Waikato University. His rugby clubs are Fraser Tech in Hamilton, and Marist Rugby Club in Samoa. BJ is Samoa’s 59th Olympian having made the Rugby 7s team in 2024. BJ has signed to play for North Sydney in the Schute Shield in 2025.
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