Pisi brothers make World Cup history
It’s been a long time coming but the Pisi brothers have finally made history.
For the first time at a Rugby World Cup, three brothers took the field in the same team.
Previously Samoa had three brothers in the same squad but never on the pitch together. Five Slovenian Skofic brothers hold the record in their match against Bulgaria; three Fransescato brothers appeared in the same team for Italy against Romania in 1981 and three Finlays played for Scotland in 1875.
None, though, achieved their feats at rugby’s pinnacle event.
Being on the wrong side of a 46-6 thrashing from South Africa in Birmingham was certainly not the way the Pisi brothers wanted to celebrate the occasion.
But having knocked each other around in their west Auckland backyard as kids, donning the blue jersey together was a special moment nonetheless.
‘‘We never envisioned us three playing together,’’ eldest brother and former Hurricanes first five-eighth Tusi, who now plays in Japan, said. ‘‘It’s a special moment and we will cherish it.’’
Tusi, 33, and middle sibling George, 29, were born in Samoa while Ken, 26, came along after their parents moved to Auckland in search of a better life for their five children.
All three brothers dreamed of one day representing their proud country. Midfielder George and former North Harbour wing Ken now play for English club Northampton, alongside Samoan and former Crusaders halfback Kahn Fotuali’i.
The Pisi boys had to be patient to tick this box, waiting three years since the littlest of the litter made his test debut. All three were in the same squad for the test against the All Blacks in Apia earlier this year, only for George to pull out injured.
‘‘It’s been like that for the past five years,’’ Ken said.
Naturally seeing their three sons in the same Samoan team was a special moment for their parents, who are based in Massey.
‘‘We’ve been waiting for a while now and finally we got the opportunity,’’ Ken said. ‘‘We talked to mum and dad. They are very happy. They feel blessed.
‘‘I was like their tackle bag growing up. I learnt a lot from them. We used to play a lot in the backyard.’’
Samoa’s humbling loss to the Springboks sets up a defining showdown with Japan on Sunday (NZ time). Win that and they remain in the hunt for the quarterfinals, with a final pool match against Scotland. Lose, though, and their hopes of progressing will be over.
‘‘I’ve got no doubt we can do it,’’ Samoan prop Census Johnston said. ‘‘Our loss against South Africa was a kick in the guts but we’ve got to get back on the horse and hopefully ride into the sun.’’