Hollywood star delivers emotional & inspiring message to Samoa squad ahead of World Cup Final

Samoa are headed to a first ever Rugby League World Cup Final.

On Saturday they battle holders Australia in the decider at Manchester United’s Old Trafford.

Now perhaps the most famous man on the planet of Samoan heritage has looked to inspire the likes of Salford Red Devils’ Tim Lafai and Ken Sio, Hull FC’s Ligi Sao and the countless NRL stars in the squad.

Former WWE Champion and current Hollywood star and lead in Black Adam, Dwayne The Rock Johnson took to Instagram to deliver a heart warming message to the Samoan squad:

“Man, here we go. I am delivering this message with boundless love, boundless, reverence, and respect, and boundless pride for my boys, my usos, the Toa Samoa rugby (sic) team,” Johnson said.

“They are going to the men’s final of the Rugby League World Cup.

“This is a big deal. They are making history in the world of sports, in the world of rugby. This is the first time that our island, our country, our culture of Samoa has ever gone to the finals for any sport.

“They are making history and I could not be more proud of them, we could not be more proud of them.

“There’s a few things I want to share with you guys and I know you have so much on your mind right now.

“Pressure, pressure, pressure. The pressure to deliver, the pressure to perform. You have the world watching. And you have so much on your shoulders.

“Right now you are proud grandsons, proud sons, proud husbands, proud fathers, proud teammates, proud brothers, proud usos — pressure.

“I understand what it’s like to have pressure. I understand what it’s like to do stuff when the world is watching.

“So a few things that I always think about when it comes to scenarios like this. It happened when I was playing football, it happened when I was wrestling for some of the biggest Wrestlemanias of all time, it happened in this crazy world of Hollywood. It happens outside of Hollywood in all these other industries. But when it comes to pressure and when it comes to delivering, when you have so many people relying on you and you have it all on your shoulders, I understand.

“There’s a few things that I was thinking about and I want you to think about this too, and I know you’ve got a lot of stuff on your mind. Number one is grit. There’s a term that you guys know it’s called fa’a Samoa, and when I was growing up my grandfather, high chief Peter Maivia, my grandmother, Lia Maivia, even my mum, Ata, still today we talk about grit.

“Fa’a Samoa … is one of the many Samoan terms that I always embodied because to me, my grandfather always taught me that yes, fa’a Samoa is proud of who you are, where you come from, what’s in your blood, what’s in your DNA, what’s deep in here, mana.

“That’s the thing that separates us from everyone else.

“But it also means grit. And it’s the grit, the drive, that force that you operate as if your backs are up against the wall and there’s nowhere to go but ahead, but forward.

“It’s grit I think about, and the other one is legacy.

“So when you take that field this Saturday in Manchester and you have that grit and your DNA is just full of our Samoan pride and culture.

“You think about that legacy and that legacy you want to define.

“Because there are two sides to legacy — No.1 is the side that you’ve already made history. You’ve arrived.

“But the other side to legacy, and this is the special side, is when you take that field in Manchester, you leave it all out on the field and you win.

“Man, I’ve got goosebumps right now.

“If I was there with you guys on Saturday I would put on a Toa Samoa jersey and I would take that field, man I’d be running that rock with you guys.

“I’d probably get my ass kicked, but that’s okay.

“Grit, legacy. My usos, I love you, I’m so proud of you, we’re all so proud of you. Take that field, make history and win.”

You can watch it here.