Ex-Leeds Rhinos star Willie Poching on England v Samoa, the Rugby League World Cup and his future plans

Poching was born in New Zealand, but captained Samoa at the 2000 World Cup and his father was the first manager of the nation’s national side.

He has lived in England for more than 20 years, but vowed: “I am rooting for my people, for Samoa”.

Poching said: “I am a strong supporter of England as it’s a representation of the Super League competition, which is something I am not just a fan of, I have been involved with for a long time.

“I want England - and therefore Super League - to do well, but our small nation hasn’t been this far in the tournament, ever and I am rooting for them.”

Samoa were thrashed 60-6 by England at Newcastle in the World Cup’s opening match four weeks ago.

Since then, they have beaten Greece, France and - in last week’s quarter-final - Tonga and now look like the quality of opposition England were expecting in round one.

Their squad is packed with NRL talent and Poching said: “They are a very different team to a month ago.

“I think in the three games in between they have grown and got better and better. I think they’ll come into the game full of confidence and they know what they are up against, definitely.

“They got taught some lessons up in Newcastle that I am sure they’ll be using as reminders this weekend.

“England are a fantastic team, [coach] Shaun Wane has got them playing fantastically well and I think it’s going to be a great contest.”

Poching - who will be working as a pundit BBC pundit at the semi-final, at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in north London - admitted England’s campaign has been flawless so far.

“It seems to me they’ve had no distractions off the field,” he noted. “The camp has gone really smoothly and they’ve just gone about their business as you’d expect with Shaun Wane.

“You look at the camp and you sort of get a vibe about how things are. They seem like a really close team.

“You listen to what the players are saying and that seems to be the case, hence why they are playing so well.

“They are committed to each other. Everyone’s had a chance in this competition now and I am sure Shaun Wane is settled on what he thinks is his best team at this stage in the tournament.”

Earlier in the tournament Poching was turned away from the Samoan camp after being invited to present the players’ jerseys ahead of their second match.

He admitted to being upset at the time, but said he has now “pretty much” settled his differences with coach Matt Parish.

Of the World Cup as a whole, Poching reflected: “It has been awesome, I have enjoyed it.

“Seeing the likes of Greece and Jamaica playing our sport has been huge. Never as a kid did I think those teams would be playing our game.

“While there has been some lopsided scores, every World Cup competition, other than football, has that with the minnows.

“They have got to be given a chance to grow and we have to allow our game to grow. What I think now is, us as a game have to do something to help the game grow in Greece now it’s legal.

“We have got to help the game grow in Jamaica because there’s some people working really hard behind the scenes to make that happen. We, as a game, need to help them do that.

“And people like Luke Keary and Mitchell Moses, who are playing for these smaller countries, need to play in the qualifiers. They can’t just come and play in the World Cup.

“For what they’ve started to continue and for the others to keep coming through, those guys need to keep playing for them, not just when a World Cup comes around.”

Poching began his Super League career as a player with Wakefield Trinity in 1999 and joined Leeds three years later.

He was a Grand Final winner in 2004 and joined Rhinos’ coaching staff after retiring as a player at the end of 2006.

He later had spells as assistant-coach at Warrington Wolves, Salford Red Devils, Hull KR and Huddersfield Giants before returning to Trinity, initially in a similar role.

He was appointed interim-coach midway through the 2021 season and given the job on a full-time basis at the end of that campaign, but wasn’t kept on for 2023.

Poching said: “I am actively looking [for a job] here; I am open for employment, but I am also realistic that there aren’t many opportunities at this time of year.

“I am not holding my breath that anything will come any time soon, but if somebody comes knocking I am willing to have the conversation.”