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RLWC Daily: Samoa lose another star on eve of semi, Jillaroos 'have work to do', Woolf calls for more Pacific clashes

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11th November, 2022
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LEEDS – Samoa have been hit with another huge withdrawal for their first ever Rugby League World Cup semi-final, with Martin Taupau withdrawing from the squad due to injury.

The Manly prop sustained the injury in last week’s win over Tonga, but has not been able to recover sufficiently in time. He is replaced by Connolly Lemuelu, the newly-signed Dolphins middle, who is yet to make an appearance at the tournament.

The news comes fresh on the back of losing starting hooker Danny Levi, who withdrew from the squad for personal reasons. He posted on Instagram to explain his decision, citing family issues as the reason for his withdrawal.

“Hey guys unfortunately earlier this week I had to withdraw from the team due to some family issues that have been taken care of and I thank those who knew for the love and support!

“It was hard choice to make and would love nothing more than to go to war with my Uso’s, but I have absolutely love my time with my brothers and will be supporting my heart out for them all!!!”

Jillaroos ‘have work to do’

Jillaroos coach Brad Donald has said that his side’s underwhelming performance against the Kiwi Ferns will provide a chance to sharpen their tools ahead of the knockout stages.

Australia’s women were pushed all the way by New Zealand, winning 10-8 in the end despite going into the match as heavy favourites.

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Donald said it was a fair assessment of where his team stood ahead of a semi-final with the PNG Orchids on Monday evening (UK time).

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“It gives us a chance to work on our defence and showed that we probably have some work to do on our attack,” said the coach.

“We’ve normally played them (the Orchids) annually and we’ll be looking forward to them. It’ll be tough. We had a hit-out tonight in the forward pack and there’ll be another one in four nights’ time.”

“That was a really tough game but in terms of defence a 10-8 scoreline shows what these ladies are capable of. I said to the girls at halftime, ‘Hey, this is what we were after’.

“You can’t go into every game and expect to win easily and win a World Cup. You could watch the resilience (after) the drop in confidence with a few errors but I was really happy with how they bounced back.”

Woolf calls for more Pacific clashes

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Tonga coach Kristian Woolf has called for better scheduling at international level, with greater opportunities for him to lead his side on their home turf, and against their greatest rivals, Samoa.

“I’d love at some stage to take Tonga back to Tonga and play Samoa there,” he said.

“I think that would be outstanding. I’m sure Samoa would like us to go to Samoa as well at some stage. That’s certainly something we need to look at.

WARRINGTON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: Jarome Luai of Samoa celebrates following the Rugby League World Cup Quarter Final match between Tonga and Samoa at The Halliwell Jones Stadium on November 06, 2022 in Warrington, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images for RLWC)

Samoa celebrate their win over Tonqa. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images for RLWC)

“It’s always great to come over here (England) and I know that the game over here needs international rugby league and thrives on international rugby league and that’d be great as well. What’s actually best for us? I don’t actually know until something is put on the table.”

International scheduling doesn’t currently go further than next week’s World Cup Final, with a designated calendar set to be announced but currently delayed by the NRL’s CBA dramas.

“I’ve been involved now for nine years and it’s never been anything different,” said Woolf.

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“I certainly hope that going forward we can get past that and have a suitable international calendar that involves all the teams and gives teams like Tonga just as much opportunity as Australia, New Zealand and England.”

“We’re not quite sure what’s next. I know there are some plans for international footy next year and things like that. Where we sit, we’re not quite sure yet but the future is bright and we’ll certainly have stronger teams moving forward.”

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