Tino Fa’asuamaleaui has rubbished the suggestion Australia lost the forward battle to New Zealand in the World Cup opener, accusing critics of being disrespectful.
Sunday’s World Cup final between the Kangaroos and Kiwis looms as a tasty rematch, after last month’s tournament opener was one of the best Tests this century.
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New Zealand dominated territory as their forward pack ran more metres, with three long-range tries helping Australia to a 24-22 win.
But Fa’asuamaleaui claimed it was wrong for anyone to suggest the Kangaroos’ forwards had lost the battle but won the war.
“You win the battle, you win the whole game,” the front-rower said.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for (New Zealand), and I’m not saying it in a bad way. People can talk and whatever. But at the end of the day, we won the game.
“We definitely discussed (after the game) that we needed to be better.
“But we won the game. We were really proud of our effort, our scramble defence and making things happen.”
Australia’s pack has been one of the key talking points of the World Cup, with four-time premiership winning coach Trent Robinson claiming during Seven’s coverage they had been out-muscled by New Zealand and Fiji.
Luke Keary had also warned that the Kangaroos’ pack risked being steamrolled by Samoa or Tonga, after their 36-22 group-stage win over the Bati.
Australia bounced back with their most complete match of the tournament against Samoa in Sunday’s semi-final, dominating every aspect of the 44-12 win.
But New Zealand’s pack is arguably the best in the world, with James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota, Joe Tapine and Naufahu Whyte up front.
Fa’asuamaleaui said he expected a high standard to be set for the Kangaroos, but believed some comments of their performance against the Kiwis had been over the top.
“A lot of people probably have disrespected us, probably overshadowed the fact that we did win,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.
“We want to be judged harsh, but in a respectful way. I think a lot of people have been disrespectful.
“But we do expect to be judged harsh, because we are a pinnacle. We’ve won the most World Cups.”
Fa’asuamaleaui, meanwhile, revealed he had been in tears during both national anthems against Samoa on Sunday.
The Queensland front-rower had toyed with the idea of representing Samoa to honour his late father’s heritage, before deciding to again wear green and gold.
He was then face-to-face with Brian To’o during Samoa’s pre-match Siva Tau, with the pair’s heads making contact as Samoa marched towards the Kangaroos.
“I was real pumped up and have a lot of respect for them boys. Bizza started the movement for the Samoan boys,” Fa’asuamaleaui said.
“To see what they’ve done, a lot of respect, and it definitely pumped me up, but I was just admiring it too.
“I had a lot of emotions actually, I had a few tears during the national anthem, both of them, Aussie and the Samoan one.”
