'Sivi Tau confrontation shows the passion': Wakefield Trinity's Mike McMeeken and England ready to lock horns with Samoa again

McMeeken was among the substitutes last Sunday when England opened the series with a 34-18 win at Wigan.

That came after the two sides had gone nose to nose during Samoa’s traditional pre-match war dance.

The Samoan players advanced to within centimetres of their opponents, who were lined up on half-way and the Siva Tau ended with Hull KR half-back Mikey Lewis rubbing heads with Samoa rival Gordon Chan Kum Tong.

It made for spectacular viewing, in the stadium and on BBC television, but some fans and pundits have since questioned why England are expected to stand and watch as the opposition strike an early psychological blow.

McMeeken, though, reckons the pre-match ritual is also a chance for them to “stand as one”. He insisted: “It’s good to experience things like that.

“It’s something you can say you’ve faced in your career; I’ve faced it three times now and it’s always an intense thing to watch.

“We just make sure we stand together as one and respect it as well.”

McMeeken, who will join Wakefield Trinity from Catalans Dragons next season, was off the field when the two sides became involved in heated scenes in the final moments of last weekend’s game.

Remarkably, despite a mass confrontation involving almost every player on the pitch, no punches were thrown and England boss Shaun Wane admitted he had “never seen anything like that before”.

McMeeken recalled: “I was on the bench at that point so I literally had a front-row seat.

“It shows they have got passion and it shows the group of lads we’ve got as well.

“We are all from different clubs, but we all want the same thing and we are a tight-knit group.”

And while the 30-year-old forward expects Saturday’s showdown to be just as physical, he doesn’t think last week’s scuffle will have any bearing.

“It [the second Test] was always going to be a bit spicy,” stressed McMeeken.

“We are 1-0 up and they don’t want to be losing 2-0.

“I expect them to come out all guns blazing from the first minute and I expect it to be intense for the full-80.”

A series-clinching victory on Saturday would go some way to erasing the memory of England’s extra-time defeat by Samoa in a World Cup semi-final two years ago.

However, McMeeken said: “We know what went wrong that day, we had a game plan set, but we didn’t execute it.

“In terms of revenge, it’s not that we have to win on Saturday because of that.

"We want to win because we want to win the series 2-0, leading into future games against other nations.

“We just want to keep building and building and making ourselves a better team for the future.”

McMeeken will be back in West Yorkshire next season, having joined promoted Wakefield Trinity from Catalans Dragons on a four-year deal.

The 30-year-old began his career with London Broncos in 2012 and spent five seasons at Castleford Tigers, under current Wakefield coach Daryl Powell, before moving to France in 2021.

“I am definitely excited to start at Wakey,” he stated.

“Once this series is out of the way. I’ll have a few weeks off to rest and do a few things with my family, then start back in early December.

“I am looking forward to it; they are building something special there, which - when I spoke to Powelly - was one of the main things that attracted me.

“I know him as a person and know he wants to build something special. The direction he and Matt [Ellis, Trinity’s owner] see the club going is something I want to be involved in.”

Powell spotted Basingstoke-born McMeeken playing for London during their 2014 relegation campaign, when they won only one Super League game.

He went on to play for Castleford in the 2017 Grand Final, after helping them to that year’s league leaders’ shield and also appeared at Old Trafford with Catalans in 2021 and 2023. He lost all three Grand Finals but gained experience that will be invaluable on Wakefield’s return to Super League.

“He is certainly a massive part of why I am where I am now,” reflected McMeeken of the man he is to link up with again at Wakefield.

“I came to him as a very inexperienced 20-year-old and he took my game to the next level.

“A few of us went from London that year, but I was only young and I definitely wouldn’t be where I am now without that.

“It just shows what a good coach he is, he can see potential in players and he’s not afraid to take a risk on them and bring the best out of them.”