Click here for match wrap
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Pacific Championship test between NZ Kiwis and Toa Samoa at Aucklnad's Eden Park.
New Zealand will play their first fixture since they were dumped out of last year's World Cup by Australia in the semi-finals.
History will show Samoa shocked England in the other semi and, although they had no answer for the Kangaroos in the final, they showed they were ready to join Tonga among the world's rugby league elite.
There's no doubting the physical talent available to the Pacific teams, it's more a matter of marshalling that potential on a consistent basis.
That became clear last week, when Australia again overwhelmed Samoa in the Pacific Championship opener, and another defeat today would set up a trans-Tasman final next month.
The Kiwis continue to lose players to their Pacific roots, with Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak chosing to pledge his future allegiance to Tonga, but the NZ squad is still stacked with NRL talent.
Join us at 6pm for kickoff.
TAB Odds: NZ $1.10, Samoa $6.50
Kiwis coach Maguire 'fully focused' on national team amid Origin speculation
NZ Kiwis coach Michael Maguire has shut down any speculation over his future with the national team and reported links with the New South Wales State of Origin role.
Maguire is in camp with the New Zealand side, as they prepare for the Pacific Championship opener against Toa Samoa on Saturday. Meanwhile, across the Tasman, reports suggest he is about to accept a one-year contract to guide the Blues in 2024.
He's made it clear he's not prepared to discuss that prospect while he's wearing the Kiwis emblem on his chest.
Michael Maguire and Joseph Tapine at Kiwis training. Photo credit: Getty Images
"Fully focused about the Kiwis," he insisted. "That's what I'll be continually talking about.
"That's my goal at the moment and I'm 100 percent committed with the boys. We've done a lot of point to get to this point and I don't plan on anything getting in the way of what we're focused on.
"We've got three big test matches ahead - we've got Samoa at Eden Park with a really big crowd."
Since taking over the Kiwis reins in 2018, Maguire has become a strong advocate for international rugby league, which tends to play second fiddle to Origin and the NRL across the ditch.
He has won premierships in England with Wigan and Australia with South Sydney, but his NZ contract has been a lifeline for him, during a difficult tenure at Wests Tigers, which ended midseason in 2022.
"I'm focussed on the Kiwis," he said. "I will continue to say it and I guess people will continue to keep asking.
"My role right now is I love my Kiwis job and I love working with these boys, and we've got some big test matches ahead.
"We've looked back in the past the World Cup and we haven't achieved to where we set out, so that's our goal. The next World Cup is two years down the track and now is the starting point from where we finished."
The Kiwis went into last year's tournament as world No.1, but drew Australia in the semi-finals and could not overcome the two-time defending champions. Maguire was subsequently reappointed national coach through the next World Cup.
That event was scheduled for 2025, but original hosts USA and Canada withdrew, as did France, after it was offered the tournament. The International Rugby League has since delayed the next World Cup a year, staged somewhere in the southern hemisphere.
Maguire insists he will still be wearing the Kiwis logo then, with unfinished business to achieve.
"100 percent, that's what I'm here for," he said. "I talk about it openly with the players and when I stand in front of the camera. I want to be part of a team to be successful over a long period of time.
"100 percent I'll be at the World Cup...that's the plan."
