{"id":248594,"date":"2022-11-04T03:03:36","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T04:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=248594"},"modified":"2022-11-04T12:59:14","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T12:59:14","slug":"divisive-coach-hits-put-up-or-shut-up-crossroads","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=248594","title":{"rendered":"Divisive coach hits 'put up or shut up' crossroads"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ufeffThe Rugby League World Cup<\/a> quarter finals present a crossroad of sorts for Samoan rugby league, and by extension for national men's coach Matt Parish.<\/p>\n

Toa Samoa go up against Pacific Islands rival Tonga in a mouthwatering clash that promises to \ufeffbe equal parts entertaining and emotional, given the significance of such a game for both nations.<\/p>\n

Tongan rugby league \ufeffhas experienced an incredible upsurge in the past few years. Men's coach Kristian Woolf has lifted the team to No.2 on the world rankings, behind only New Zealand.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Red Bull boss fumes at 'hugely worrying' move<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Under fire Simmons ruled out with injury<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Surprise name emerges as Australia's next T20 captain\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

It began with a stunning 16-12 win over Australia – then ranked No.1 in the world – at Eden Park \ufeffthree years ago. They've since beaten Great Britain and New Zealand as well, to be considered a genuine contender at events such as this World Cup.<\/p>\n

\"Jarome<\/p>\n

The \ufeffdefection of superstar lock and 2016 Dally M medallist Jason Taumalolo from New Zealand to Tonga kickstarted a wave of top NRL talent pledging allegiance to tier two nations rather than the Kangaroos or Kiwis.<\/p>\n

Samoa is now benefiting just as much as Tonga. NSW Blues playmaker Jarome Luai chose to be available for Toa Samoa rather than the Kangaroos, as did Queensland prop Josh Papalii, Penrith winger Brian To'o, and Roosters sensation Joseph Suaalii.<\/p>\n

This influx of talent \ufeffmade a 60-6 thumping at the hands of England<\/a> in the opening World Cup game all the more baffling for Samoa.<\/p>\n

Leading commentator Andrew Voss led the calls for Parish to be ousted immediately, labelling the performance "insipid" and proclaiming "I would send them home based on that".<\/p>\n

Samoa did, to its credit, bounce back. Big victories over Greece (72-4) and France (62-4) \ufefffollowed, but the real litmus test looms in the early hours of Monday morning (AEDT) when Toa Samoa take on Tonga in the quarter finals.<\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/p>\n

\ufeffParish is never afraid to spar with media or his critics – this week asking journalists, "are you going to write the truth tonight?"<\/a> at the start of a press conference – but the time has come to put up, or to shut up.<\/p>\n

Toa Samoa has to at the very least be competitive \ufeffwith their Pacific sibling if the players want to convince everyone that things are, indeed, fine and dandy in camp. With the talent in their squad there is simply no excuse for another belting.<\/p>\n

And if Samoa can win this quarter final, it sets up a likely semi-final\ufeff reunion with England, and a chance for revenge.<\/p>\n

M\ufeffEN'S RLWC QUARTER FINALS<\/h3>\n

All times in AEDT<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Australia vs Lebanon, Saturday 6.30am<\/p>\n

England vs Papua New Guinea, Sunday 1.30am<\/p>\n

New Zealand vs Fiji, Sunday 6.30am<\/p>\n

Tonga vs Samoa, Monday 1.30am<\/p>\n

\ufeffWHO DIDN'T MAKE THE CUT<\/h3>\n

Pool A<\/strong>: France, Greece<\/p>\n

Pool B<\/strong>: Italy, Scotland<\/p>\n

Pool C<\/strong>: Ireland, Jamaica<\/p>\n

Pool D<\/strong>: Cook Islands, Wales<\/p>\n

\ufeffFor a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\ufeffThe Rugby League World Cup quarter finals present a crossroad of sorts for Samoan rugby league, and by extension for national men's coach Matt Parish. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248594"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=248594"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":248596,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248594\/revisions\/248596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=248594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=248594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=248594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}