Having had time to reflect on the Tigers’ campaign, he said 2025 could not be described as a success because “we didn’t play in the finals”.
Jarome Luai prepares to fly out of Sydney on Monday with his Samoa teammates.Credit: Christian Nicolussi
“That’s me as a competitor, and the years I’ve been through [at Penrith],” he said. “We can be a lot better, and it starts in pre-season.”
Luai, fellow Tigers Taylan and Terrell May, Canberra’s Josh Papalii, Parramatta’s Junior Paulo, Penrith’s Blaize Talagi and Brian To’o, and premiership-winning prop Payne Haas – who Luai refers to as “Samoa’s marquee signing” – are just some of the big names in action on Sunday against the Kiwis in Auckland.
Haas has been heavily linked to breakaway rugby union competition R360, with his management reportedly telling organisers last week the prop was only interested in entering negotiations if they were prepared to pay a minimum of $3 million a season.
Luai said there had been plenty of “banter” with the players about R360 and the wild money being discussed.
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“The figures getting thrown around, as a player, it will always be eye-catching, but until it actually happens, I don’t think we’ll have serious conversations about it,” he said.
Taylan May’s late-season cameo was another promising sign for the Tigers, especially the quality of football he delivered without a pre-season, and Luai said he would be one of Samoa’s danger men out wide.
“He’s a freak, bro … and if his mind is right, and he’s motivated, and he’s got a goal to work towards, then he’s a threat to a lot of others,” Luai said.
Now 28, Luai captained Samoa in a series in England last year, and will share the responsibility with Paulo this year.
The tiny Pacific nation made it to the World Cup final in 2022, and is still awaiting the returns of Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu, two players who will miss this series due to injury and fatherhood respectively, ahead of next year’s World Cup.
