France Lose 78-4 to Samoa, Frayssinous Cites NRL Gap — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- France were beaten 78-4 by Samoa in a Pool B-C match at the Men's Rugby League World Cup in Parramatta, with their sole try scored in the first half by Guillermo Aispuro-Bichet.
- Samoa ran in 14 tries, including four from Melbourne Storm winger Sua Fa'alogo, who came off the bench as an early replacement for the injured Deine Mariner.
- Laurent Frayssinous blamed the widening gap between the NRL and Super League for a defeat heavier than France's 62-4 loss to Samoa at the 2021 World Cup in Warrington.
- All but one member of the Samoa squad plays in the NRL, while France's team is predominantly Super League-based — South Sydney Rabbitohs centre Latrell Siegwalt the only NRL exception.
- Samoa scored five tries inside the opening 20 minutes while France were "all over the shop," compounded by head injuries to winger Leo Darrelatour and stand-off Cesar Rouge.
- Frayssinous welcomed the NRL's proposed investment in Super League, saying: "What the NRL has done here is so good... we want the NRL to do it the same in Europe."
Why it matters: The result crystallises the NRL-versus-Super League gap argument: an NRL-loaded Samoa squad handed a Super League-heavy France a heavier defeat than their 62-4 meeting four years ago. Frayssinous's open call for NRL investment in European rugby league makes that imbalance unavoidable, and leaves the question of whether a Super League-dominated France side can compete in the knockout rounds.
Ask SkimNews
