KEY POINTS:
England's number one shock troop will be among the easier players to spot at the league World Cup.
Pounding prop Maurie Fa'asavalu stands out in this predominantly Anglo-Saxon crowd.
The former rugby star, who was born and raised in Samoa, first played league at St Pauls College in
Auckland. He has gone on to make history as England's first Samoan test player - a fact that has not gone down well in every quarter it has to be said - after qualifying through residency.
English World Cup selection also means the 28-year-old is returning to the country of his greatest rugby triumph, the 2003 World Cup where Samoa rattled winners England in Melbourne.
In a stirring match, flanker Fa'asavalu provided the pass for captain Semo Sititi to score.
"I don't think anyone had scored a try against England for two years," Fa'asavalu says proudly. "That and scoring two tries against Uruguay were the highlights of my rugby union career."
Little could Fa'asavalu know that he would one day pull on an England jersey.
Fa'asavalu had toured here with a rugby team from Apia's St Josephs College in 1998. A Marist scholarship to St Pauls in central Auckland followed, which led him to play for Northcote and North Harbour junior representative rugby sides.
Unlike some compatriots, Fa'asavalu never set his sights on the All Blacks. He had seen others play briefly for the All Blacks or New Zealand A and then discarded, leaving them in the international wilderness because of rugby's rule which prevents players representing more than one country.
So playing rugby for Samoa, and a professional club, was his initial aim.
But apart from a loose inquiry by Biarritz, no club made an offer after the 2003 World Cup.
The St Helens league club quickly won him over with a series of messages at his hotel in Dubai, where the Samoan sevens team were playing.
"I said to myself this must be the calling," says Fa'asavalu.
He struggled in his first year though under coach Ian Millward.
"My first season was shocking. In rugby union, I would follow where the ball goes. In league you've got to look after your area," he remembers.
The arrival of former Warriors coach Daniel Anderson helped turn his career around.
"I think the massive change happened for me when he took over. He told me to trust him. He said 'I'll teach you how to play'," he says.
"He taught me the basics, how to go back quick, how to get recovery, how to look after the body. The best thing he told me was not to be soft. After one of his early games there, I had been limping and he said 'don't be soft'."
Fa'asavalu knows about the school of hard knocks. The oldest of three kids, from the age of 11 he was brought up in the Tafaigata Prison compound near Apia where his father worked as a policeman.
"I actually enjoyed living in there. We saw the prisoners every day and I probably learned some lessons out of it - seeing young guys in jail with their lives ruined by their crimes."
He is ensconced in England for now with his wife Lili and their two young children, aiming to add to the remarkable 10 major titles St Helens has won in his five seasons there.
Fa'asavalu plays exclusively off the bench as a firebrand ball runner and tackler. Even in the modern interchange era it is unusual to find a test forward with just six starts in 120 appearances for his club.
But his work off the bench was enough for English coach Tony Smith.
Fa'asavalu made his test debut against the Kiwis last year, when a TV commentator, former players and parts of the Huddersfield crowd voiced displeasure at an import making their test team.
Fa'asavalu sidesteps when asked if he feels fully accepted a year later.
"I don't know ... the boys in the team are really happy for me to be part of them and that's the best thing for me," he says.
