A new overseas Leeds Rhinos signing has been selected to play for Samoa against England rugby league this weekend.
Last time out, England ran out as 34-18 victors, scoring six tries in a strong performance.
Speaking after that first game, Samoa head coach Ben Gardiner said: “I felt we didn’t take opportunities when we needed to.
“Test matches are always won by kicking it down to the corner, keeping the opposition in the corner and making it difficult for them to come out of their end.
“In the first half we didn’t do that well enough. I thought we did a much better job in the second half and put a lot more pressure on the opposition.
“For us, it’s about learning lessons and controlling the momentum for longer, putting it deeper into the corner and being able to control the middle part of sets.
“I didn’t think the first half was too bad, but we gave three penalties away, resulting in two tries.”
Now, he has named his 19-man squad for Saturday’s Test at Headingley and it seems that one of Leeds Rhinos’ newest signings could play at his new home.
New Leeds Rhinos star among Super League names selected to face England in Samoa clash
Credit: Getty Images
Gardiner has made a couple of changes from the first Test match. Paul Roache and Izack Tago have dropped out of the squad, with Simi Sasagi and Jake Tago being brought into the line-up.
John Asiata, who has moved to Hull FC for 2025 after being Leigh Leopards captain, is one of the players selected again for Samoa to face a number of his Super League rivals.
In addition, new Leeds Rhinos man Keenan Palasia has been selected for the team to play as he was last week, however, he’ll be hoping to take to the field and play at Headingley ahead of properly joining up with his teammates there in 2025.
It’ll be a chance to feel the atmosphere that he praised in his first interview as a Leeds Rhinos player, especially as the game is set to have a good crowd of over 15,000.
