Fresh from helping Penrith Panthers to a fourth successive NRL title, New South Wales stand-off is now in the UK with Samoa to take on England – and admits he’d love to come back to play Super League
PENRITH legend Jarome Luai has revealed he wants to play Super League – but not before causing a World Cup “surprise” with Samoa.
The dazzling stand-off is in the UK to captain his country for the first time when they face England at Wigan on Sunday. One of rugby league’s biggest stars, he has just helped Panthers to a fourth successive NRL title. Luai joins Wests Tigers on a lucrative five-year deal next season but admits he also wants to test himself over here.
Luai, who will be 32 when his Wests deal expires, was injured and a frustrated spectator when Penrith lost the World Club Challenge to Wigan in February. But he gets to play there this weekend as a two-Test series kicks-off. Samoa famously knocked England out of their home World Cup when winning a dramatic golden point semi-final encounter at Arsenal two years ago, Luai claiming player of the match.
All the talk ahead of the weekend is of whether Shaun Wane’s side have recovered from that heartache ahead of their first meeting since. But, having become the first Pacific nations side to reach a World Cup final, Samoa endured their own pain with a 30-10 loss to Australia. Luai says they intend to correct that in the 2026 tournament down under as they continue to grow.
Samoa have already attracted dual-code New Zealand star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and hard-hitting Queensland and Australia second-row Jeremiah Nanai to their squad for this tour. Luai, 27, warned: “I think we will surprise a lot of people with the team that’ll be picked in the 2026 World Cup.
“I can’t name any names but there are a lot of guys behind the scenes that have put their hand up already to play for Samoa. It’s really exciting. It’s all about growth for the game and there’s no better way to do that than at international level. So get excited.
“I was fortunate enough to go back to Samoa before coming here so I relived the mind about how grateful we are to live this life and have these opportunities to pull on this jersey and serve our country in this manner. It’s very special for me. I haven’t been to York before. It definitely gives that England vibe with its castle walls around the city. And the Minster was a great experience.”
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