Carlos Tuimavave has spoken of his pride in his Samoan heritage ahead of the Rugby League World Cup Final on Saturday.
Samoa will face Australia in the Final at Old Trafford on Saturday after they defeated host nation England in Golden Point at the Emirates Stadium last weekend, with Hull FC’s Ligi Sao on the scoresheet.
Tuimavave, who represented Samoa three times between 2013 and 2015, will be one of the millions watching Saturday’s contest with Australia on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking to hullfc.com, the 30-year-old couldn’t hide his pride.
“It’s amazing that the team has got this far in the tournament and it makes me really proud of my Samoan heritage,” Tuimavave told hullfc.com.
“I’ve seen videos of people parading the streets in New Zealand and Samoa, celebrating the achievement of reaching the Final. It shows you how much this means to people.
“Not many people live on the island of Samoa when you compare it to places like England, New Zealand and Australia, so to have the opportunity to perform on the world stage in the final is a really proud moment for us Samoans.
“I’ve dropped Ligi a few messages of congratulations over the last couple of weeks, letting him know how proud we all are of him.
“It’s also really good for Hull FC that one of our players is going to play in a World Cup Final, so that’s something we should celebrate.”
Should he play, Sao will become only the third Hull FC player to feature in a World Cup Final, following in the footsteps of Bob Coverdale in 1954 and Clive Sullivan MBE in 1972 – Johnny Whiteley MBE and Tommy Harris both won the World Cup for Great Britain while with the club, but the tournament was in a round robin format.
Tuimavave missed the last few months of the 2022 Betfred Super League season after tearing his Achilles against Catalans Dragons in June.
But he’s been making positive strides over the last few weeks, and speaking to hullfc.com earlier this morning, the centre gave an update on his rehab programme.
“It’s progressing really nicely. I had a bit of a run on the grass earlier this week and I’m hoping to involve a bit of work with the footy next week, so it’s going well so far,” he said.
“Obviously the recovery from an Achilles injury is a long process, so it’s important that we take things step-by-step, but it’s looking good so far.
“Closer to when I first suffered the injury, I wasn’t too focused on putting a return time on it. But now I’m looking at making a comeback in Round One.
“At the same time, I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, so I won’t be rushing anything for sure, but I am aiming for Round One at the moment.”
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