Samoa call up Bunty Afoa and Ken Maumalo for England Test
Monday 1 May 2017 09:33, UK
Samoa have called up New Zealand Warriors duo Bunty Afoa and Ken Maumalo for Saturday's Test match against England in Sydney.
Canberra prop Junior Paulo has also been added to the finalised 18-man squad, while Isaac Liu and David Nofoaluma were omitted from coach Matt Parish's original selection.
Afoa, who can play at second row and prop, has featured once before for Samoa. The 20-year-old joined the Warriors on a three-year deal in June.
Maumalo, 22, has also been capped once previously by Samoa, scoring two tries against Fiji last October.
England will come up against familiar faces in the form of Anthony Milford, Josh McGuire and Sam Kasiano when they take on the Samoans.
Prop forward McGuire played for Australia in the 2016 ANZAC Test but, under new international laws, is able to switch to a tier two nation and remain eligible for the Kangaroos.
The same applies to half-back Milford, who has played for the Australian Prime Minister's XIII in the past and has been on the fringes of selection for the Queensland State of Origin team.
Prop Kasiano was in the New Zealand side that reached the 2013 World Cup final at Old Trafford.
Milford and McGuire, who both play for England coach Wayne Bennett's Brisbane Broncos team, have represented Samoa in the past.
Meanwhile, Hull forward Sika Manu has withdrawn from the Tonga team to play Fiji as part of the triple header at the Campbelltown Sports Ground.
The second rower was due to captain the Tongans but limped out of Hull's 34-10 win over Warrington on Friday with an ankle injury. He also has the threat of a disciplinary hearing hanging over him after he was sin-binned for a "chicken-wing" tackle in that game.
