It tends to happen once a generation that we come across a player who just has all the physical attributes to play rugby league.
We had Sonny Bill Williams. Then Greg Inglis. And now Joseph Suaalli is the next reiteration of that player who is just genetically designed to be a phenomenal rugby league player with outstanding attributes. Watching the Samoa full-back - who’s still only 19 - he is definitely that type of player. He could be something hugely special. He’s been special already in the games I've seen him play and he’ll only develop more.
He does remind me of Inglis in many ways: tall, lean, athletic, very strong for his size but also with that raw bravery and courage to throw himself into the line as hard as he possibly can. He’s got good footwork, is quick and if you want to get in a test tube all the physical attributes of an outstanding back, he’s your man. The key for England in today’s World Cup semi-final against Samoa is where they kick to and making sure they persistently kick to the side of the field Suaalii least likes bringing it out from. And it can’t just be two or three sets: they have to relentlessly kick there like they did against Papua New Guinea.
Then they need a good five, six or seven man kick-chase every time to deal with him. But then it’s also dealing with him off the back of Samoa’s offloads as well. That’s an incredibly strong feature of his game. Being at full-back he gets the ball in space and time and gets to run at fractured lines off kick returns but also that’s an attribute of his that’s key off offloads as well. It can create chaos in the defensive line and he has the physical capabilities to take advantage of that. England need to be wary on those two fronts. England needs a wall of white on that kick-chase.
England’s captain Sam Tomkins is a player who came onto the scene and was all about his physical attributes: how he carried the ball, the elusiveness he had but also his strength through tackles. He’s a player who’s developed over time and his game intelligence now is outstanding along with his game management. He’s accurate with his kicking and chooses the right option and that’s been pivotal to some of England’s successes.
We’ll see the full-back role played in two very different ways today and I think, for England, Sam’s role is crucial if they are going to win this game and the final as well. I do feel they will win a really tight, close game which could be an absolute classic. Samoa will be motivated by that embarrassing performance in their group game against England and England will be motivated to continue the great performances they’ve shown so far and get to where they need to be: in a home World Cup final.
Jamie Peacock is an ambassador for the National Lottery who are an Official Partner of the Rugby League World Cup 2021 (RLWC2021)
