What a year! RNZ Pacific's sports review of 2022

By Craig Stephen

With a shock world cup final appearance, the debut appearance of two Pacific teams in Super Rugby, Commonwealth Games medals galore, and milestones in many sports, it's been a year to remember.

If there was one defining moment then it was provided by Toa Samoa when they reached the final of the delayed Rugby League World Cup in November when the odds were very much against them.

In doing so they became the first Pacific team in either rugby or league, men's or women's, to reach a world cup final.

But it all began with a drubbing that would have knocked the stuffing out of most teams after they were humiliated 60-6 in the tournament's opening game by hosts England.

Then Samoa were boosted by the arrival of their six NRL finalists, the recovery of injured players, and things began to click.

After completing the pool stage with thumping wins over Greece and France, Toa Samoa upset Tonga 20-18 in the quarter-finals, then squeezed past England 27-26 in the semi-finals thanks to a golden goal.

In every town and city around the world, from Apia to Adelaide and Savaii to South Auckland, vehicles were decked out in the colours of Samoa and thousands of people gathered to support the team.

There was no fairytale ending however, as pre-tournament favourites Australia defeated Toa 30-10 in the final, but the flags continued to fly and parties held to celebrate the team's incredible achievements.

The President of Rugby League Samoa, Tagaloa Fa'afouina Su'a, said the team's success had united the nation.

"I think the Rugby League World Cup is one of the best things that has happened in the last two or three years for our nation - not just here in Samoa but all around the world.

"All Samoans around the world and our Pacific island brothers as well and even in New Zealand too because New Zealand is our brother."

New ground broken

In rugby, Moana Pasifika and Fiji Drua broke new ground by competing in the Super Rugby Pacific competition for the first time.

The teams' journeys began in defeat, however, with the 10-times champions Crusaders beating Moana Pasifika 33-12 but the new side turned in a respectable showing in that debut match.

The Drua made history in their third match, defeating the Melbourne Rebels 31-26 in Queensland.

And when the two teams met up in May, it was the Drua that came out on top, defeating their rivals 34 to 19 in Sydney.

Both Pasifika and Drua ended the season with two wins apiece, setting them up for a competitive 2023 campaign.

In the women's game, the Fijiana Drua's historic victory over the New South Wales Waratahs in Melbourne ended the dominance of the Waratahs and gave the Fijiana the Super W title.

Meanwhile, Tonga booked its place in the 2023 men's Rugby World Cup after winning a repechage event in Australia with a 44-22 win over Hong Kong.

Birmingham bliss

In England, which was enduring scorching temperatures in the northern hemisphere summer, Pacific athletes were on fire winning a total of 12 medals at the Commonwealth Games.

Samoa won the region's only gold, through weightlifter Don Opolege and the nation's lifters also won three silver medals, and there was also Samoan silver in heavyweight boxing.

Fiji won four medals, two of them in the rugby sevens, but there was some disappointment that neither team could win their respective finals.

Weightlifting brought the only medals for Papua New Guinea and Nauru, Vanuatu gained a bronze from beach volleyball, and one of the stories of the games was when Niue gained its first-ever medal with a boxing bronze.

Pacific netballers didn't qualify for the Games, but there was a remarkable story with the one-time underdogs, Tonga, hitting an unbeaten streak.

They began they year unranked; now, they're the only Pacific team in the world's top 10.

Head coach Jaqua Pori-Makea-Simpson pulled together players from across Australia and New Zealand in order to gather a squad together.

"Most of us met for the first time at Sydney airport," she said.

The Tala's lift-off began in March, in Sydney at the first of two PacificAus Netball tournaments which they won.

Four months later, they had another undefeated tournament at the Oceania Championships, taking down traditional powerhouse Fiji 68-54 in the grand final.

That secured qualification for the 2023 Netball World Cup, being held in South Africa, for the first time with Fiji joining them.

This week has seen the Lionel Messi-led Argentina lift the men's football World Cup for the third time, their first since the days of Diego Maradona.

The final, played against France in Qatar, seems a world away from the game in Pacific, where football is second to the rugby codes.

But the Oceania qualifiers held in March in the Gulf state, showed the game has come back to the position it was in before covid struck even though the disease forced the postponement of several early games.

New Zealand won the tournament, perhaps as expected, and qualification for the Intercontinental Playoff where they lost a controversial match against Costa Rica, 1-0.

They beat Solomon Islands in the Oceania final but the yellow and blues proved themselves to be the clear second-best team in the region, while PNG gave the All Whites their toughest test, holding them to 1-0.

In the women's qualifiers, PNG defeated Fiji to win the tournament and bag a place in the playoffs for next year's World Cup.

And finally Papua New Guinea earned the most gold medals in the Pacific Mini Games in Saipan after finishing with 33 golds.

The event was much reduced due to covid-19 but late in 2023 the full Pacific Games will be held in Solomon Islands for the first time giving the country a likely financial boost.