Great Scott Chasing A World Cup Dream

Scott Sio is hoping his move to Cardiff Rugby will help him achieve his dream of playing in a third World Cup.

The Sydney-born prop was the first choice loosehead for Australia in the 2015 and 2019 tournaments, starting ten matches in all, including the 2015 final at Twickenham.

Now he is looking to represent Samoa in next year’s World Cup, which ironically enough is being held Down Under.

With that in mind, he knows he needs to be playing at a good level of club rugby and feels turning out regularly for Cardiff in the BKT URC fits the bill perfectly, in the wake of his departure from Exeter.

On that front, he has a big Welsh derby clash coming up this weekend against the Ospreys - and their assorted Aussies - at St Helen’s, Swansea.

Sio won 74 caps for the Wallabies between 2013 and 2022, but has now embarked on a second international career with Samoa.

His father David - also a prop - played for Western Samoa in the 1991 World Cup, lining up against Scotland at Murrayfield in the quarter-finals.

The game coincided with the birth of David’s son who was named Scott in recognition of the occasion.

Now Sio Jnr is following in his father’s footsteps having become eligible for the south seas island nation through not having played for Australia for three years.

He made his debut for Samoa last November against Namibia and then won a second cap in the dramatic draw with Belgium in Dubai which sealed their spot as the 24th and final qualifiers for next year’s World Cup.

Explaining his involvement, he said: “It wasn’t originally in the plans when I came over to Exeter.

“I was very grateful for the opportunities I had with the Wallabies and the career I had.

“I was just looking forward to establishing myself on this side of the world and playing my career out. But life has a funny way of leading you towards bigger things and newer things.

“I met my lovely wife over in London. She is a proud Samoan-Kiwi girl and she was probably the one that got me over the line there with playing for Samoa.

“We have a son together. Sometimes at different stages in your career, you have something different to play for and a different purpose and responsibility and one of the big things for me was I wanted to represent them and play for Samoa.

“It is very special for me. My dad played for Samoa, my sisters play for Samoa too. So we are a proud Samoan family and it’s nice to represent them.

“It is a goal of mine to go to the World Cup next year with Samoa. It’s the biggest stage and that would be a great opportunity.

“The irony of it is it’s in Australia which is quite funny in itself. There’s a hypothetical world where if the Wallabies come second in their pool and we come second in ours we meet each other in the round of 16. There would be a lot of fireworks there!”

The 34-year-old Sio feels he is well placed to push for selection for a third World Cup, having opted to head for Wales following the end of his four season stay with Exeter.

“I knew I needed to still be playing good rugby domestically so I can contribute to Samoa,” he said.

“When the opportunity came up at Cardiff, it was great for us.

“The format of the BKT URC sort of suits that too. I like what the league is doing. It’s quite a unique competition in the world.

“In football, they need to go to the Champions Cup to meet teams from different nations.

“We have a domestic competition where we are able to do that week in, week out, see different cultures and experience different players at different levels.

“At the end of the day, I will be getting to play against some of the best players in the world. I am excited for the opportunity.”

Sio is clearly very much in Samoa’s plans having been included in the squad for next month’s Nations Cup campaign which sees matches against Zimbabwe (in Wakefield), Portugal (Lisbon) and Spain (Malaga).

“It’s going to be a big preparation period for the World Cup, a big foundation block for us,” he said.

“It’s games against teams who will be keen as mustard to get stuck in.”

He added: “Rugby massively needs a strong Samoa especially heading into a World Cup in Australia.

“There’s a lot of people there who will want to come and watch the Pacific nations and you want to be competitive.

“That’s the mindset of the players. We don’t just want to go there to take part. We want to compete against the best teams there. We have got France, USA and Japan in our pool, so they are three big tests.”

Sio has arrived at Cardiff after spending four years at Exeter having previously been with the ACT Brumbies for a decade.

“Things came to an end at Exeter and I was looking for opportunities to test myself as a player and grow in a new environment,” he said.

“I still felt great. After having a good chat with my wife, we decided Cardiff was a good opportunity.

“I have played here a few times for Australia against Wales and I know rugby weekends are huge.

“I really like how they just lock down the city. No-one is allowed to drive through. Everyone can walk wherever they want and take as many beers around before the game.

“Welsh fans are super passionate. They always get behind their teams and that’s one of the things that drew us to come to Cardiff. There's a rich history, not just for rugby but as a nation too. We are looking forward to experiencing that as a family.”

He added: “Welsh people are tough. No matter what the score is, no matter what the time of the game is, they are always fighting hard.

“That’s something that drew me to coming here and it’s something I feel I can add to, adding that layer of toughness to the pack. You have got to live in the trenches there and hopefully I can ride it out with the boys.

“One of the biggest things Cardiff want to pride themselves on is the set-piece and hopefully I can be a good cog in the wheel there and provide some good experience.

“I understand my role in the team and I am excited for the opportunity.”

Having shared in the victory over the Scarlets in Cardiff’s BKT URC opener, Sio then suffered a facial fracture during the Round 2 win against Zebre Parma.

But he made a rapid recovery and returned to action against the Hollywoodbets Sharks at the Arms Park last Friday night.

Now he turns his attention to the Ospreys and then to the international stage with Samoa.