Suncorp Stadium has seen its share of epic rivalries over the years—and Sunday October 26 looks set to add another fiery chapter following the official announcement of the draw for the 2025 Pacific Championships.
In a match almost guaranteed to be a 50,000+ sellout, star-studded rivals Tonga and Samoa will clash for the first time since the quarter finals of the 2022 World Cup, when Toa Samoa won an epic encounter 20-18 in Warrington, England.
It’s a match that still stings for the Tongans according to their captain Addin Fonua-Blake, particularly with another World Cup on the horizon in 2026.
“The boys are still feeling a bit of hurt from that game (2022) so there’s going to be some fireworks,” he told NRL.com.
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“It’s a rivalry that’s great for the game, both countries being in the Pacific, there are bragging rights on the line,” Fonua-Blake continued.
A Pacific rivalry that began in 1986
Two fiercely proud nations with deep rugby league traditions, Tonga and Samoa have met 22 times over the years with Samoa holding a narrow edge, 11 wins to 10.
The rivalry began in 1986 when the sides met twice in the first-ever Pacific Cup as both games were played before just a handful of fans in Avarua in the Cook Islands.
Tonga won the first game 34-16, before Samoa hit back hard in the playoff round to win 46-6—a result that remains the largest ever margin between the two sides.
The first time the two nations met on Australian soil was 2005 when just 2,500 fans showed up in Campbelltown to watch Tonga defeat Samoa 34-20.
‘It has State of Origin intensity, it will go off’
The next time they clashed in Campbelltown was 2018, when almost 18,000 screaming fans showed up mirroring the steep growth trajectory of the international game and Pasifika rugby league in particular.
Looking towards this year’s clash in October, Cronulla and Tongan winger Sione Katoa said he can’t wait for the two nations to renew their rivalry.
“In the international game everyone always talks about New Zealand and Australia,” Katoa said.
“But Tonga and Samoa is just as intense, it has that State of Origin intensity and it will go off.
“Suncorp is a great stadium and when it’s packed it’s a crazy atmosphere—Tongans and Samoans are both very loud countries!”