Record-setting Foran named in NZ Pacific Champs team
Darren Walton |
Retiring great Kieran Foran and off-contract star Nelson Asofa-Solomona are among six 2023 title-winning members included in New Zealand’s opening match of the Pacific Championships on Sunday.
Coach Stacey Jones on Tuesday also recalled Cronulla winger Ronaldo Mulitalo, his Sharks teammate, Briton Nikora, Newcastle-bound playmaker Dylan Brown and Penrith enforcer Moses Leota for Sunday’s showdown with Toa Samoa at Auckland’s Go Media Stadium.
All six were key contributors for then-coach Michael Maguire’s Kiwi outfit that notched a record 30-0 win over Australia in the 2023 final in Hamilton before being unavailable for last year’s campaign.
The inclusion of Foran is particularly significant, with the 35-year-old veteran set to eclipse Benji Marshall for the longest span representing New Zealand.
Foran made his international debut in 2009 and the tournament will mark his rugby league swansong after the former Manly premiership winner played his last game in the NRL this season for the Gold Coast.
Asofa-Solomona’s future beyond the Pacific Championships remains up in the air after the towering prop requested a release from Melbourne to pursue other opportunities, including a potential switch to rugby.
Leota has been reunited in the front row with his long-time former Panthers clubmate and Kiwi captain James Fisher-Harris while Nikora returns in the second row, with Asofa-Solomona named on the interchange bench.
Dolphins hooker Jeremy Marshall-King will also make a Test comeback, three years after his only international appearances against Lebanon and Jamaica at the 2022 Rugby League World Cup.
The remaining 10 players included in New Zealand’s squad were all used in the Kiwis’ most recent match, a 54-12 win over Papua New Guinea in Sydney last November.
New Zealand Warriors fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was in the halves on that occasion but is back in the No.1 jersey, while Penrith’s Casey McLean comes into the centres after bagging four tries on the wing in his Test debut against the Kumuls.
Newly-crowned Brisbane premiership winner Payne Haas features in a formidable Samoa line-up led by Wests Tigers playmaker Jarome Luai and powerhouse Parramatta prop Junior Paulo.
Superstar winger Brian To’o, his ex-Penrith teammate turned Tigers juggernaut Terrell May, North Queensland back-rower Jeremiah Nanai and Warriors legend Roger Tuivasa-Sheck have also been named by Samoa coach Ben Gardiner.
Penrith young gun Blaize Talagi joins Luai in the halves while fellow Panther Izack Tago and Broncos grand final hero Deine Mariner form a dynamic centre pairing.
Canberra veteran Josh Papalii returns to the Toa Samoa side on a two-year mission to lead his country to a historic World Cup victory.
The 33-year-old will play his first Test match since the 2022 World Cup final against Australia at Old Trafford.
New Zealand have won all five previous encounters with Samoa, including a last-up 50-0 victory in the opening game of the 2023 tournament at Eden Park.
New Zealand: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Jamayne Isaako, Matthew Timoko, Casey McLean, Ronaldo Mulitalo, Dylan Brown, Kieran Foran, James Fisher-Harris (capt), Jeremy Marshall-King, Moses Leota, Briton Nikora, Isaiah Papali’i, Joseph Tapine. Reserves: Phoenix Crossland, Naufahu Whyte, Erin Clark, Nelson Asofa-Solomona. 18th man: Xavier Willison.
Toa Samoa: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Murray Taulagi, Izack Tago, Deine Mariner, Brian To”o, Blaize Talagi, Jarome Luai (co-capt), Josh Papalii, Jazz Tevaga, Payne Haas, Jeremiah Nanai, Jaydn Su’A, Junior Paulo (co-capt). Reserves: Chanel Harris-Tavita, Simi Sasagi, Terrell May, Francis Molo. 18th man: Benaiah Ioelu.
AAP
