Samoa and Penrith Panthers prop Spencer Leniu has opened up on playing through the pain during his nation's historic World Cup semi-final win over England.
Leniu's tournament was supposed to be over after he re-aggravated a shoulder injury during the group-stage game against France.
But as an injury crisis started to grip the Pacific nation, he put thoughts of self-preservation aside, taking the field at the Emirates Stadium and contributing to a historic win.
The team is already without Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tyrone May, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Josh Aloiai and Izack Tago, who all suffered tournament-ending injuries, while dummy-half Danny Levi returned home for personal reasons.
โWe've built up a next-man mentality,โ Leniu told ABC Sport.
โIf I had to break my shoulder for the brothers I would have done it โ and I don't think it's that far from broken. Hopefully the boys appreciated that one.
โIt's a credit to the brothers. We've built a lot of chemistry between one another and that next man up mentality was key for us.โ
After initially suffering the injury during the NRL season, the reaggravation couldn't have come at a worse time for Leniu. Though there's still a week for his prognosis to change, the 22-year-old is remaining optimistic.
โI'm just going to take it day by day,โ he continued.
โIt doesn't feel too good right now. We'll see how it goes during the week but hopefully I can play.โ
The off-contract Leniu is expected to return to a bidding war for his services after the final, with a number of clubs interested in his services after a strong finish to the 2022 season and some impressive World Cup performances.
Regardless of whether he is able to take the field for the historic occasion next week, Leniu knows the importance of what he and the Samoan team are achieving extends far beyond results.
โWe did this for a lot of people around the world and I hope all the Samoans are proud of us.
โIt's crazy. I just hope we inspire younger Samoans to strive to play for Samoa. I know there's a lot of allegiance from Origin and the Kangaroos and all that, but those young Samoans out there, I hope we inspire you to play for Samoa and represent your heritage.
โThat's the message we want to send.โ
