Rugby Confidential: Pete Samu on British & Irish Lions ban, what will World Cup expansion mean?

Shattered backrower Pete Samu has opened up for the first time after the British & Irish Lions blocked his bid to play for a team that represents his heritage.

A heartbroken Pete Samu has opened up on the ridiculous decision by the British & Irish Lions to ban him from playing in the First Nations and Pasifika team in Melbourne last Tuesday.

Breaking his silence, Samu told Rugby Confidential of his shock at being given the news having already posed for portrait pictures in the jersey and training with the team.

“I got told the Thursday morning of the week before that there was something, (coach) Toutai Kefu came up to me and said there was an issue with my release or something, and I thought, ‘Oh, it shouldn’t be’,” Samu said.

“Then I got a call later that afternoon saying that they won’t allow me to play in that fixture because I hadn’t played Super Rugby that season.

Peter Samu charges forward for the Wallabies in 2022.

“I was quite confused and just disappointed because it’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and it was played here in my home state.

“Obviously not being able to represent my Samoan side, it was quite sad. I didn’t get to play this game to represent my parents and my family.

“It was quite sad.”

Samu had already played against the Lions for the AUNZ Invitational side in Adelaide two weeks ago.

He and Rugby Australia believed that because he’d signed to play for NSW Waratahs in 2026, he was eligible for this game too.

Matt Philip, who spent the year in Japan, was allowed to play for the Waratahs against the Lions having signed a deal to join NSW from 2026.

But the Lions had different rules around the two Invitational teams and seem to have made up rules on the run.

We can revel Samu wasn’t the only player rejected by the Lions. A handful of others were put forward and swiftly knocked back.

When Lions boss Ben Calveley landed in Australia a month ago and started complaining about the Wallabies not releasing their best players for the Super Rugby teams, fearing it would lead to non competitive matches, the concerns were valid.

But the sheer hypocrisy of the Lions to then block players from being picked in the Invitational sides for fear of losing is stunning.

Samu, 33, is unlikely to ever get another chance to play the Lions now.

Australian Wallabies player Pete Samu (C) chats with teammates during a training session earlier this year.

What would have been a tremendously proud moment for the backrower and his family was taken away, and a career highlight is now just a bitter taste.

Samu is grateful for the way the FNP players and coaches supported him through his disappointment. It was a conscious decision by them to make Samu the waterboy for the game, ensuring the Lions players and officials saw him on the field at Marvel Stadium.

“They were awesome, they were gutted for me as well, but there was a game to be played, so, I just did all I could to help the boys out, prepare for the week,” Samu said.

“It was pretty good running the water, good fun. I mean, obviously I wasn’t out there, but it was close enough.

“I was really proud of the way the boys played, it was a real tough game.”

Fans even wore Pete Samu masks in the stands, as a show of solidarity for the 33-Test Wallaby, who recently returned to Australia after helping French club Bordeaux win the European Rugby Champions Cup.

Fans at Marvel Stadium wear Pete Samu masks in support of the player who was banned from playing against the British & Irish Lions for the First Nations & Pasifika team.

Lions officials would have seen Samu’s heroics up north, so it’s no surprise they blocked him from playing.

Lions coach Andy Farrell distanced himself from the drama last week.

“I suppose everyone wants to play against the Lions, I suppose he’ll be disappointed, but that’s out of my hands, I don’t make the rules, I just get on with coaching my side,” Farrell said.

“There’s rules and regulations that have been agreed. So we’ll let them get on with it.”

Lukhan Salakaia-Loto at training.

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When Rugby Australia sits down to review everything from the Lions tour, one of the first things they need to do is take a deep look into the future of the First Nations & Pasifika Invitational team.

The game was only added to the Lions’ itinerary after the Melbourne Rebels were shut down but it turned out a great spectacle that almost delivered a Cinderella finish.

But the biggest takeaway is how the FNP’s part-time coaching panel succeeded in getting the best out of all their players when some professional coaches haven’t been able to.

It’s a big issue that speaks to the importance that many Indigenous and Pacific Island players place on their culture and heritage, and how coaches communicate with them.

Unwanted by the Wallabies for the first two Tests, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto and Taniela Tupou both had blinders playing for the FNP, and the reason they gave was simple.

“The opportunity to put culture first and really have an awesome week under the coaches,” Salakaia-Loto said.

“Toutai Kefu, Sekope Kepu, Glen Ella, the list goes on in terms of how these guys know how we operate as people.

They understand what makes us tick, these coaches.

“I look at these coaches, they look like me. We all look like each other. We understand what makes us tick. We understand how we operate.”

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With the gap between rugby’s rich and poor getting wider and wider, there’s the ever present danger of cricket scores being racked up at the 2027 World Cup being held in Australia.

The decision to expand the number of competing teams from 20 to 24 is a mixed blessing because while it will help spread the game it could also result in some horribly lopsided encounters.

The unspoken reality is the inclusion of the four extra teams was partly engineered to ensure the United States qualifies before hosting the tournament in 2031 after missing out on 2023.

Two of the new teams that have qualified for 2027 are Hong Kong and Zimbabwe.

England's Immanuel Feyi-Waboso passes the ball during the men's rugby union international between England and the USA in Washington.

Hong Kong have never qualified before while Zimbabwe’s only appearances were in 1987 and 1991 when South Africa was still banned because of apartheid.

In all, Zimbabwe played six pool games and lost them all, conceding over a half-century of points on five occasions.

But they did come close to winning their other match, losing 21-20 to Romania at Eden Park 38 years ago.

Originally published as Rugby Confidential: Pete Samu on British & Irish Lions ban, what will World Cup expansion mean?