Rugby league superstar Jarome Luai reveals which Super League club he hopes to join

Fresh from helping Penrith Panthers to a 4th successive NRL title, New South Wales stand-off is present successful the UK with Samoa to instrumentality connected England - and admits he'd emotion to travel backmost to play Super League

PENRITH legend Jarome Luai has revealed helium wants to play Super League - but not earlier causing a World Cup “surprise” with Samoa.

The dazzling stand-off is successful the UK to skipper his state for the archetypal clip erstwhile they look England astatine Wigan connected Sunday. One of rugby league’s biggest stars, helium has conscionable helped Panthers to a 4th successive NRL title. Luai joins Wests Tigers connected a lucrative five-year woody adjacent play but admits helium besides wants to trial himself implicit here.

He said: “Yes, I’m decidedly unfastened to it. I deliberation a batch of stereotypes enactment the NRL supra Super League. But the games I've watched, and being present successful the World Club Challenge, I decidedly consciousness it’s beauteous evens. There’s a batch of large players present and we get to travel up against these guys present - the champion of the champion successful Super League - with Samoa.”

Luai, who volition beryllium 32 erstwhile his Wests woody expires, was injured and a frustrated spectator erstwhile Penrith mislaid the World Club Challenge to Wigan successful February. But helium gets to play determination this play arsenic a two-Test bid kicks-off. Samoa famously knocked England retired of their location World Cup erstwhile winning a melodramatic aureate constituent semi-final brushwood astatine Arsenal 2 years ago, Luai claiming subordinate of the match.

All the speech up of the play is of whether Shaun Wane’s broadside person recovered from that heartache up of their archetypal gathering since. But, having go the archetypal Pacific nations broadside to scope a World Cup final, Samoa endured their ain symptom with a 30-10 nonaccomplishment to Australia. Luai says they mean to close that successful the 2026 tourney down nether arsenic they proceed to grow.

Samoa person already attracted dual-code New Zealand prima Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and hard-hitting Queensland and Australia second-row Jeremiah Nanai to their squad for this tour. Luai, 27, warned: “I deliberation we volition astonishment a batch of radical with the squad that’ll beryllium picked successful the 2026 World Cup.

“I can’t sanction immoderate names but determination are a batch of guys down the scenes that person enactment their manus up already to play for Samoa. It’s truly exciting. It’s each astir maturation for the crippled and there’s nary amended mode to bash that than astatine planetary level. So get excited.”

Samoa, meanwhile, are based successful York and a video of them performing a hymn astatine the city’s celebrated Minster went viral this week. Luai, who was calved successful Sydney but has a Samoan father, explained: “It gets a spot affectional sometimes conscionable with your puerility and however you’ve grown up and however overmuch religion means to Samoa successful general.

“I was fortunate capable to spell backmost to Samoa earlier coming present truthful I relived the caput astir however grateful we are to unrecorded this beingness and person these opportunities to propulsion connected this jersey and service our state successful this manner. It’s precise peculiar for me. I haven’t been to York before. It decidedly gives that England vibe with its castle walls astir the city. And the Minster was a large experience."

He added: “I ever look guardant to playing for Samoa, particularly distant from home. I’m truly relishing it and being successful England, connected the different broadside of the world. Just to link with guys I’ve not truly played with earlier and not had overmuch to bash with before, is simply a large crushed wherefore I play this game. It’s conscionable the gathering people, increasing arsenic a person and increasing arsenic a player. This is simply a large accidental to pb these boys and travel up against a large England side.”

And connected that imaginable Super League move, who would helium fancy playing for: “I’d beryllium 32 oregon 33 by then. We’ll spot however I go. But... Wigan!”