2024 Samoa rugby league tour of England
| 2024 Samoa rugby league tour of England | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 27 October – 2 November 2024 | ||||
| Summary |
| ||||
| Total |
| ||||
| Opponent |
| ||||
 England |
| ||||
The 2024 Samoa rugby league tour of England will be a two-match tour by the Samoa national rugby league team to England in October and November 2024.[1][2]
Background
Organisation
The 2024 Samoa tour of England was being discussed between the two nations following the conclusion of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in addition to the previous year's Tonga tour of England. The tour was all but confirmed on 3 August 2023, with International Rugby League announced their long-awaited international calendar following the cancellation of the 2025 Rugby League World Cup.[3][4] This initially did not happen with Samoa eventually declining their tour invitation on 9 November, in order to play in the returning Rugby League Pacific Championship (a competition which began in 2019 but never had a second edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic) for the 2024 edition.[5][6][7]
On 27 November, Samoa re-engaged talks about the potential test series,[8][9] and on 13 June 2024 the tour was confirmed, but with only a two-match test series (one short of a traditional tour),[1][2] with the hope that the reduced schedule would allow Samoa to compete in the 2024 Rugby League Pacific Championships as well.[10][11]
Teams
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Official rankings ahead of the tour[12][13] | |||
| Rank | Change | Team | Pts % |
| 3 |  1 | England | 74.00 |
| 4 |  1 |  Samoa | 70.00 |
The tour will be Samoa's first ever tour, and only the second of a Pacific Island Nation (with Tonga's tour the year prior being the first).[14]
The games will be the sixth and seventh meeting of the two sides with England winning all previous encounter except for the most recent – the 2021 World Cup semi-final.
Upon the initial planning of the tour, Samoa were above England in the World Rankings (still 3rd and 4th), but a successful tour for England and an unsuccessful Pacific Championships for Samoa in 2023 flipped these rankings.
Venues
| Wigan | Leeds |
|---|---|
| Brick Community Stadium | Headingley |
| Capacity: 25,138 | Capacity: 21,500 |
 |  |
   30km 20miles  Headingley Stadium Brick Community Stadium | |
Squads
England
The England squad was announced on 6 September 2024.[15]
| Player | Club |
|---|---|
| Matty Ashton | Warrington Wolves |
| John Bateman | Warrington Wolves |
| Tom Burgess | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Daryl Clark | St Helens |
| Ben Currie | Warrington Wolves |
| Tyler Dupree | Wigan Warriors |
| Herbie Farnworth | Dolphins |
| James Harrison | Warrington Wolves |
| Ethan Havard | Wigan Warriors |
| Chris Hill | Huddersfield Giants |
| Tom Johnstone | Catalans Dragons |
| Morgan Knowles | St Helens |
| Matty Lees | St Helens |
| Mikey Lewis | Hull KR |
| Jez Litten | Hull KR |
| Liam Marshall | Wigan Warriors |
| Mike McMeeken | Catalans Dragons |
| Elliot Minchella | Hull KR |
| Robbie Mulhern | Leigh Leopards |
| Junior Nsemba | Wigan Warriors |
| Harry Newman | Leeds Rhinos |
| Kai Pearce-Paul | Newcastle Knights |
| Victor Radley | Sydney Roosters |
| Harry Smith | Wigan Warriors |
| Morgan Smithies | Canberra Raiders |
| Luke Thompson | Wigan Warriors |
| Danny Walker | Warrington Wolves |
| Jake Wardle | Wigan Warriors |
| Jack Welsby | St Helens |
| George Williams (C) | Warrington Wolves |
| Dom Young | Sydney Roosters |
Matches
First test
| England | Position | Samoa | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| 1 | FB | 1 | ||
| 2 | WG | 2 | ||
| 3 | CE | 3 | ||
| 4 | CE | 4 | ||
| 5 | WG | 5 | ||
| 6 | SO | 6 | ||
| 7 | SH | 7 | ||
| 8 | PR | 8 | ||
| 9 | HK | 9 | ||
| 10 | PF | 10 | ||
| 11 | SR | 11 | ||
| 12 | SR | 12 | ||
| 13 | LF | 13 | ||
| IN | ||||
| IN | ||||
| IN | ||||
| IN | ||||
| CS | ||||
Second test
The second test match of the series will be played at Headingley Stadium as a double header with an England vs Wales women's international test match being played beforehand.[16]
| England | Position | Samoa | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| 1 | FB | 1 | ||
| 2 | WG | 2 | ||
| 3 | CE | 3 | ||
| 4 | CE | 4 | ||
| 5 | WG | 5 | ||
| 6 | SO | 6 | ||
| 7 | SH | 7 | ||
| 8 | PR | 8 | ||
| 9 | HK | 9 | ||
| 10 | PF | 10 | ||
| 11 | SR | 11 | ||
| 12 | SR | 12 | ||
| 13 | LF | 13 | ||
| IN | ||||
| IN | ||||
| IN | ||||
| IN | ||||
| CS | ||||
Broadcasting
Both matches of the tour were broadcast live on BBC Sport in the UK and Super League+ elsewhere.[17]
References
- ^ a b "England to play Samoa in autumn Test Series". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. 13 June 2024.
- ^ a b "England's men to host Samoa in two-Test series in October and November". BBC Sport. June 13, 2024.
- ^ "Southern hemisphere to host 2026 World Cup". BBC Sport. August 3, 2023.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup: Southern hemisphere to host tournament in 2026 after France withdrawal". Sky Sports. 3 August 2023.
- ^ "RFL exploring all options for 2024 as Samoa turn down England tour invite". www.rugby-league.com.
- ^ "Samoa reject England invitation for 2024 test series; Shaun Wane's side 'exploring all options' ahead of Australia tour in 2025". Love Rugby League. November 9, 2023.
- ^ Pattison, Cam (November 9, 2023). "Samoa turn down Test Series against England". Serious About Rugby League.
- ^ "Rugby league: Samoa to re-engage with England over 2024 tour after International Rugby League steps in". Sky Sports.
- ^ "Samoa and England talks re-open over proposed 2024 tour following IRL board meeting". Love Rugby League. November 27, 2023.
- ^ "Venues revealed for England-Samoa rugby league Test series". Love Rugby League. June 13, 2024.
- ^ McHugh, Robert (June 13, 2024). "Revealed: England set to confirm end-of-season opponents for historic Test Series".
- ^ "INTRL - World Rankings". Rugby League International Federation.
- ^ "International Rugby League World Rankings: December 2023". Rugby League International Federation. 21 December 2023.
- ^ "England to host Tonga in three-game Test series". National Rugby League. April 28, 2023.
- ^ "England squad: Junior Nsemba and Liam Marshall called up for Samoa series". BBC Sport. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 6 September 2024.
- ^ "England confirm Wheelchair and Women's International Games". europeanrugbyleague.com. European Rugby League. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
- ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-league/articles/cxww982v9xro
