Ronald Volkman Replaces Chanel Harris-Tavita at Five-Eighth as Samoa Take On Australia
Ronald Volkman has never played Australia at international level, “but I have on Play Station,” he said. “But I didn’t win.” On Sunday the 24-year-old gets the real thing, starting at five-eighth for Samoa in the World Cup semi-final in Sydney.
He takes the No.6 jersey from Chanel Harris-Tavita, who hurt his hamstring in the 20-18 loss to Tonga on 1 November.
How he got on the field
NRL.com reported that Harris-Tavita went down trying to convert Brian To’o’s second try against Tonga at CommBank Stadium. Volkman was warming up in the corner. “I didn’t see him (get injured). I was warming up in the corner and then just heard my name and turned around to see Chanel coming from the field,” he said.
He had 27 minutes and made them count. Volkman scored a solo try that put Samoa in front with 12 minutes to play, before Addin Fonua-Blake’s try sealed it for Tonga. “I didn’t really think about it too much, which is probably good for me,” he said.
The pair know each other from the Warriors in 2022, and Volkman checked on his team-mate after full-time. “He’s definitely someone I look up to,” he said, and “the way to show respect is getting on that field and doing a job for him.”
Partnering Jarome Luai
Fox Sports called Volkman “much-improved” and a straight swap in the team list released on Tuesday. He will play outside Jarome Luai, who is named as co-captain with Junior Paulo and will be his team-mate at Parramatta next season. Volkman is heading into his third year at the Eels.
Elsewhere, Fox noted that Deine Mariner is back from a hamstring injury of his own but is on the extended bench, and that Sualauvi Faalogo keeps his place on the wing. Paulo’s selection followed the news in our story on his escaping a ban.
“A bit of a chip on our shoulder”
Volkman was at home in New Zealand during Warriors pre-season when Samoa reached the 2022 final, which they lost to Australia. He remembers watching that final and says seeing Samoa get that far “made me want to do it”. “I sort of have to pinch myself a little bit to realise I’m here.”
He believes Samoa can win the competition. “One hundred per cent. Look at the scoreboard and we only lost (to Tonga) by two and they had star power all over the place,” he said. “So it’s good for us heading into this week because now we’ve got a bit of a chip on our shoulder after that loss.”
The pressure is different this time, he agreed. Four years ago, getting to the semi-final was a pleasant surprise. Now it is expected. “You definitely have to embrace it because where we are now is a big difference,” he said, adding that the staff are there to help the squad with the pressure and distractions.
Samoa lost to Tonga by two points, as we reported in our Tonga v Samoa report. The World Cup table has the full pool results.
