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Rugby League

Peacock support for Fa'asavalu

23/10/2007

Great Britain captain Jamie Peacock has leapt to the defence of forward Maurie Fa'asavalu after he was selected in Tony Smith's first 25-man squad.

The new full-time national coach included the Samoan-born prop in the Lions set-up for the three-Test series against New Zealand, which begins at Huddersfield's Galpharm Stadium this weekend.

A number of possible candidates - including Wigan Warriors' Andy Coley, St Helens' Nick Fozzard and Bradford Bulls' Andy Lynch - were overlooked in favour of rugby union convert Fa'asavalu, who represented Samoa at the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

But fellow prop Peacock said the 27-year-old, who qualifies for Great Britain through residency after four years with St Helens, was worthy of his place in the squad.

"We've got some great traditions in this country but sometimes we fail to move on," Peacock said.

"The rest of the world moves on but we don't.

"The fact is sport has changed and you don't always have to be born in the country you want to represent. That's just the way of life nowadays and it's about time we took advantage of it.

"And what a player to take advantage of it with. I can't wait to play with him. Instead of handing me off in the face and sitting me on my backside all the time, I'm waiting to see him do it to somebody else so that I can cheer him on."

Head coach Smith described the inclusion of Fa'asavalu as "a big call" but said the controversy surrounding his "special case" was worth it.

"For him only ever having played his rugby league in this country is quite a unique situation. I went through the right channels and spoke to various people," he said.

"But, once I weighed everything up, I thought the pros outweighed the cons so I've gone with Maurie and he's delighted. He's very passionate about it and wants to do it for all the right reasons."