Toa Samoa will be led by Benjamin Gardiner at the upcoming 2023 Pacific Championships next month as the head coach.
President of Rugby League Samoa (RSL), Fiu Ponifasio Vasa, confirmed this in a press conference yesterday.
The assistant coach with Australia’s National Rugby League Penrith Panthers takes over the vacant position that was held by Mauapule Matt Parish, who stepped down last month after a highly successful international tenure that included a historic runner-up finish to Australia at the 2022 World Cup.
Parish has enormously contributed to the international game, leading Samoa to three World Cups (2013, 2017,2021), the Four Nations in 2014, and numerous Pacific test victories.
Samoa hit unprecedented heights in 2022, becoming the first Tier 2 nation to reach the World Cup Final, rallying support from Samoans around the globe with movie megastar Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Socceroo’s great Tim Cahill amongst the thousands of Samoans to get behind Parish and his team publicly.
