Former Kiwi warriors named to United Nations All-Star squad to take on England
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Hull FC Kiwi forward Chris Satae, seen celebrating a Challenge Cup try, is one of four Combined Nations All Star Kiwis to face England. s
Former warriors Chris Satae and Suaia Matagi are among four Kiwis named to a United Nations All Star squad to face the England Rugby League team.
The squad – made up of foreigners playing in the English Super League – also includes New Zealand strikers Kenny Edwards and Andre Savelio.
Matagi, 33, played 36 games with the Warriors from 2013 to 2015 and also played for the Sydney Roosters, Penrith Panthers and Parramatta Eels.
He joined the Huddersfield Giants in 2018 and is on loan this season to the Castleford Tigers.
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Richard Sellers – PA Images / Getty Images
Former Castleford Tigers Warriors forward Suaia Matagi (c) on the flurry.
Matagi is not new to the international rugby league. He played seven tests for Samoa and won a selection for the Kiwis, against Samoa in 2014.
The Aucklander will be hoping to use the game against England to assert their credentials for a place in a third-team Samoa World Cup.
Satae, 28, is having an exceptional season for Hull FC.
A graduate of the Penrith Panthers age group system, Satae rose through the amateur ranks in Auckland to make his NRL debut in 2017.
The mainstay or second rower played 15 freshman games for the Warriors before leaving in 2019 to join Hull where he has played every game this season under new Australian coach Brett Hodgson.
Gareth Copley / Getty Images
Andre Savelio, in action for Hull FC against Wigan, is in the Combined Nations All Stars.
Savelio – Satae’s teammate in Hull – was born in Lower Hutt, but moved to England as a child and raised in Warrington.
He played in the Super League for St Helen’s and Warrington before moving to the Brisbane Broncos.
But a serious knee injury kept him from playing a freshman game and he returned to England with Hull in 2019.
Earlier this season, the 26-year-old complained of being racially abused, which resulted in Wigan mainstay Tony Chubb being banned for eight games and fined £ 500 (1,000 $).
Alex Livesey / Getty Images
New Zealand forward Kenny Edwards takes a break for the Huddersfield Giants.
Edwards, who grew up in Levin, made his mark in the NRL with the Parramatta Eels before being cut due to off-field issues.
He spent two seasons with the Catalans Dragons, featuring their 2018 Challenge Cup victory at Wembley.
Edwards signed for the Huddersfield Giants in 2020.
England Rugby League / Twitter
Captain Jackson Hastings models the new United Nations All Star uniform, designed in part by injured New Zealand rugby league player Mose Masoe.
The United Nations team – selected by former Penrith, Wests Tigers and Australia coach Tim Sheens – will be led by Wigan’s Australian half-back Jackson Hastings.
It includes former England internationals Jermaine McGilvary and Jake Connor, as well as former NRL players Aidan Sezer, Matt Prior and Ricky Leutele.
The All Stars will wear a band co-designed by New Zealand mainstay Mose Masoe, who suffered a career-ending spine injury while playing for the Hull Kingston Rovers last year.
Part of the proceeds from the match – which will be played on the Warrington pitch on Friday (Saturday New Zealand time) – will go to the Mose Masoe Foundation, which helps injured former rugby players.
England coach Shaun Wane has named six uncapped players, including 31-year-old Castleford Tigers hooker Paul McShane, as the 2020 Man of Steel Super League Best Player award.