Samoan and Sydney Roosters prop Spencer Leniu has called for an Origin type series to be played between Samoa and Tonga each year.
One of rugby league's fiercest rivalries, Samoa and Tonga are slated to play each other in the Pacific Cup next year.
They have seldom met in recent times. A 2018 meeting in Campbelltown saw a sell out crowd and one of the great rugby league atmospheres to be involved in.
There was hope the teams would face off on an annual basis after that, but COVID and changes to rugby league scheduling around what was then known as the representative round with Game 2 of the New South Wales-Queensland State of Origin series played on Sunday night saw the dismantling of that.
COVID then pushed Samoa and Tonga's next meeting all the way back to the Rugby League World Cup in 2022, with Samoa eventually qualifying for the final of that tournament.
Speaking to News.com.au, Leniu, who missed this year's tour of England, said Tonga and Samoa would double the crowd achieved for the final of the Pacific Championships last weekend when Australia got the better of Tonga.
โI reckon you could double (what they got on Sunday),โ he told the publication.
โIt was majority Tongan fans, but we'd have the same number of Samoan fans there, so it'd be blue and red. I think 50,000 would be perfect. They'd turn out anywhere.
โHopefully, they can do an Origin series with us and Tonga.
โIt's probably the biggest Pacific Island rivalry between us and Tonga.
โI reckon Tonga and Samoa has to be like an Origin series. It would be unbelievable. Probably (play) one in New Zealand and then one or two in Sydney or Brisbane.
โI don't care when, I just want it to happen. There is no bigger rivalry than us and Tonga in the Pacific.
โThey hate us and we hate them, so it'll be a good game."
It's unclear at this stage how such a series would work, given many players who line up for Tonga and Samoa also play in the Queensland-New South Wales State of Origin series.
As a result, it's likely that it would have to be at the end of the season, although that in itself creates headaches as the IRL attempt to build out a new international calendar that they can stick to long-term.
That has brought about the introduction of the Pacific Championships, and re-introduction of tours to England, with Tonga touring last year, Samoa touring this year and Australia due to do the same next year.
New Zealand are due to tour England after the World Cup, which will be hosted by Australia in 2026.
A series between Tonga and Samoa would derail the concept of the Pacific Championships, but there may be a universe where Australia play a tri-series with England and New Zealand, leaving Papua New Guinea, the Cook Islands and Fiji to clash for the Pacific tournament.
It's unlikely any substantial headway will be made on a series between Tonga and Samoa prior to the commencement of the next NRL TV deal, which could see two new teams enter and the season length shortened as a result.
Negotiations are currently underway over the future of the NRL's TV product.
