Hercules Haas crucial to ending Samoa’s losing streak
Joel Gould |
Samoa know they can count on another blockbuster display from Payne Haas on his home turf as they target ending a six-Test losing streak in the showdown with Tonga.
Samoa coach Ben Gardiner has revealed the heroics of Broncos prop Haas in his magnificent display in the 24-18 loss to New Zealand last week.
Gardiner confirmed prop Terrell May, named on an extended bench, was right in the frame to be called into the 17.
The Samoans have not won a Test since their semi-final victory against England in the 2022 World Cup.
Gardiner has been in charge of five of the subsequent losses and is yet to record his first win at the helm. Samoa need a victory at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday to keep their Pacific Cup hopes alive.
They also would not want to go into next year’s World Cup with a four-year losing drought.
There is a lot of hype around the Samoa team and rightly so.
The commitment of Haas to play for Samoa was a massive boost to their short- and long-term hopes on the international stage.
This week injured Dolphins star Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow told 8500 adoring fans in Logan that he would represent Samoa at the 2026 World Cup rather than Australia.
The side on paper is formidable, but Haas made the point on Tuesday that the main item on the agenda was Tonga.
“We’ve got to win,” he said.
Haas was extraordinary on his Samoa debut against the Kiwis, where he ran for 194m and made 52 tackles. He was replaced in the second half but was off the field for just one minute and had to come straight back on when Ata Mariota was knocked out.
Haas will be crucial for Samoa against a Tongan pack led by Jason Taumalolo and Addin Fonua-Blake.
“Payne’s performance last week was unbelievable. It is the type of thing we expect from him,” Gardiner said.
“We were trying to get him off to get a rest and (Mariota) got a head knock. You go, ‘who do we get on who can play the rest of the minutes? Payne, back on you go’.
“We are lucky he brings the endurance capability and the ongoing physicality to play the whole 80. I am expecting he will stand up in a game against a lot of solid middle forwards.”
Available records of Samoa’s history suggest the last time they lost six internationals in a row was from 1998-2000.
During their recent run, all the losses have been against tier-one nations New Zealand, England and Australia.
Gardiner said he was “not feeling the pressure” to notch a maiden win as coach.
“It’s very important to win every game,” he said.
“We haven’t been able to beat too many tier-one teams in the past. To be able to do that in the future is why we are assembling the team that we are building, so we can compete with anyone in the world.
“The team we are coming up against has done a similar thing and assembled their best possible players, and they are super strong.”
AAP
