2024 Samoa rugby league tour of England
Date	27 October – 2 November 2024
Coach(es)	Ben Gardiner
Top point scorer(s)	Junior Pauga (15)
Top try scorer(s)	Deine Mariner (2) (3 each)
Summary	P W D L
Total	02 00 00 02
Opponent	P W D L
England	2 0 0 2

The 2024 Samoa rugby league tour of England was a two-match tour by the Samoa national rugby league team to England in October and November 2024.^[1][2]

The 2024 Samoa tour of England was being discussed between the two nations following the conclusion of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup in addition to the previous year's Tonga tour of England. The tour was all but confirmed on 3 August 2023, when International Rugby League announced their long-awaited international calendar following the cancellation of the 2025 Rugby League World Cup.^[3][4] This initially did not happen with Samoa eventually declining their tour invitation on 9 November, in order to play in the returning Rugby League Pacific Championship (a competition which began in 2019 but never had a second edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic) for the 2024 edition.^[5][6][7]

On 27 November, Samoa re-engaged talks about the potential test series,^[8][9] and on 13 June 2024 the tour was confirmed, but with only a two-match test series (one short of a traditional tour),^[1][2] with the hope that the reduced schedule would allow Samoa to compete in the 2024 Rugby League Pacific Championships as well.^[10][11]

In December 2024, International Rugby League Chairman Troy Grant revealed that the tour when ahead as a result of the Australian Rugby League Commission provided support to Samoa, with the Rugby League Samoa having reservations on the financial feasibility of the tour.^[12]

IRL Men's World Rankings v t e
Official rankings ahead of the tour[13][14]
Rank	Change	Team	Pts %
3	1	England	74.00
4	1	Samoa	70.00

The tour was Samoa's first tour to a European Rugby League nation, and only the second of a Pacific Island Nation, after Tonga's 2023 tour.^[15]

The games were the sixth and seventh meetings of the two sides with England winning all previous encounters except for the most recent – the 2021 World Cup semi-final.

Upon the initial planning of the tour, Samoa were above England in the World Rankings (still 3rd and 4th), but a successful 2023 test series against Tonga for England and an unsuccessful 2023 Pacific Championships for Samoa flipped these rankings.

During the tour, Samoa were based at York Knights's York Community Stadium.^[16]

Wigan	Leeds
Brick Community Stadium	Headingley
Capacity: 25,138	Capacity: 21,500
30km 20miles Headingley Stadium Brick Community Stadium

A 31 man England train-on squad was announced on 6 September 2024.^[17] The final squad was announced on 16 October 2024.^[18][19]

The Samoa squad was announced on 9 October 2024.^[20]

The first test had an average television audience of 513,000, peaking at 682,000, equating to 7.2% of the audience share.^[21]

27 October 2024 14:30 GMT (UTC±00:00)

England	34–18	Samoa
Tries: Farnworth 7', Ashton 15', 58', Williams 20', Radley 49', Lewis 71' Goals: Smith (5/6) 8', 21', 50', 59', 72'	1st: 16–6 2nd: 18–12 Report (BBC)	Tries: Mariner 33', 53' Chan Kum Tong 75' Goals: Pauga (3/3) 34', 54', 76'

Brick Community Stadium, Wigan Attendance: 15,137 Referee: Liam Moore (England) Touch judges: Marcus Griffiths (England), Cameron Worsley (England) Video referee: Jack Smith (England) Player of the Match: George Williams (England)

The second test match of the series was played at Headingley Stadium as a double header with an England vs Wales women's international test match being played beforehand.^[22]

2 November 2024 14:30 GMT (UTC±00:00)

England	34–16	Samoa
Tries: Marshall 17' Williams 28' Ashton 31' Farnworth 37', 54' Welsby 67' Goals: Smith (5/7) 5' (pen), 18', 40', 56', 68'	1st: 22–6 2nd: 12–10 Report (BBC)	Tries: Blore 8' J. Tago 44' Nanai 73' Goals: Pauga (2/3) 9', 46'

Headingley, Leeds Attendance: 16,068 Referee: Chris Kendall (England) Touch judges: Warren Turley (England), Mark Craven (England) Video referee: Ben Thaler (England) Player of the Match: Herbie Farnworth (England)

Team details

England		Position	Samoa
Name	Number		Number	Name
Jack Welsby  67'	1	FB	1	Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Matty Ashton  31'	2	WG	2	Jeral Skelton
Harry Newman	3	CE	23	Jake Tago  44'
Herbie Farnworth  37', 54'	4	CE	4	Junior Pauga  9', 46' 25' to 35'
Liam Marshall  17'	5	WG	5	Deine Mariner
George Williams  28'	6	SO/FE	6	Blaize Talagi
Harry Smith  5' (pen)', 18', 40', 56', 68'	7	SH/HB	7	Jarome Luai
Ethan Havard  18',  75'	8	PR	8	Francis Molo  27',  68'
Daryl Clark  59'	9	HK	9	Jazz Tevaga  27'
Matty Lees  32',  52'	10	PF	10	Terrell May
John Bateman	11	SR	11	Shawn Blore  8'
Junior Nsemba  65'	12	SR	12	Jeremiah Nanai  73'
Victor Radley  23',  61'	13	LF/LK	13	Luciano Leilua  51',  68'
Mikey Lewis  59'	14	IN	14	Simi Sasagi
Morgan Knowles  23',  75'	15	IN	15	Keenan Palasia  27'
Mike McMeeken  32',  52',  65'	16	IN	16	Gordon Chan Kum Tong  27'
Luke Thompson  18'	17	IN	17	Lazarus Vaalepu  51'
Ben Currie	18	CS	18	Anthony Milford
Shaun Wane		Coach		Ben Gardiner

Both matches of the tour were broadcast locally live on BBC Sport in the UK.^[23] For countries outside the UK and Ireland, the games were streamed on Super League+, with select countries also televising the event.^[24]