A star was moved to tears in incredible scenes as the rugby league representatives ’football round offered moments of tingling in the spine.
Emotions were on par during the rugby league performance round.
Saturday started with spectacular scenes outside of New Zealand when the Kiwis defeated Tonga as tingling scenes before the match took center stage.
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Brandon Smith was almost in tears before representing New Zealand for the eighth time. And before Samoa played against the Cook Islands at Campbelltown Stadium, even more players were crying.
However, for Josh Schuster, five-eighth in Samoa, there was much more behind his emotional response.
The Manly Sea Eagles star, who made his debut with Samoa in the match, said earlier, “I will definitely cry knowing what it means for my family.”
Schuster’s international debut would also always be a bittersweet occasion after the death of his childhood friend and former teammate Keith Titmuss in 2020.
The 20-year-old tragically died during a training session after he began to feel ill and told staff he was suffering from cramps. He was taken to hospital by ambulance and died shortly afterwards, leaving the NRL world in shock.
Although Titmuss had yet to play a first-class match, he was training with Manly’s senior team and hoped to make his debut in 2021, but never had a chance.
Schuster told the Sea Eagles website he would think of Titmuss when he put on his Samoan team.
“We always told the school what it would mean to represent Samoa together,” Schuster reflected.
“So when I sing the hymn, I’ll look at the sky saying to Keith, ‘We’ve done it brother.’
Schuster’s family also represented Samoa at the elite level, including his grandfather, great-uncle and uncle, all representatives of the nation in both the rugby league and the rugby union.
Another brilliant feature of the Pacific Islands clashes are the pre-match war dances and Samoa Sipi Tau and the Cook Islands Haka did not disappoint.
Eighth-placed Samoa defeated 22nd-placed Cook Islands 42-12. But despite the one-sided score, the pride and passion shown over the weekend will make the international rugby league here to stay.