It will be a battle of the best at Hugh Courtney Oval late on Sunday afternoon as Samoa face off against an undefeated Papua New Guinea n the 2022 Oceania Rugby Sevens Challenge.
The day two rematch will see the heavyweight bout determine the qualifier to the 2023 World Rugby Challenger Series.
Widely regarded as the two best teams of the tournament, the teams played in the group stages yesterday, with Papua New Guinea proving to be the better side on the day winning 21 to 5. However, Samoa’s bounce back performance over Tonga straight after their loss proves that they are no team to be underestimated, especially going into the finals.
When asked about how he’s feeling about the prospect of facing Papua New Guinea, the Samoan coach Auimatagi Sapani Pomare said,
“We have to take each game on a step-by-step basis.
“If we beat the Cook Islands, then we beat the Solomon Islands and then we might be able to play PNG in the final.
“We made too many errors last time we played Papua New Guinea, that’s the area where we must improve, if we are able to first win our two games tomorrow.”
In a similar vain to Samoa, the Papua New Guinean’s know that nothing is guaranteed in sevens rugby and that taking it one game at a time is a recipe for success.
However, when asked about the Palais hopes for the future, head coach Billy Rapilla said that he wants his side to upset the status quo of the Oceania area and dethrone the likes of New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji in order to qualify for Paris 2024.
“It’s tough in our area coming up against teams like Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, it’s always tough. But if we can put together a solid plan together in the coming years, we have a good chance to shake the tree a bit.”
Ultimately though, in order to conquer Paris, Papua New Guinea must first conquer Brisbane when they face off against Samoa in a match you won’t want to miss.
