Stefano Utoikamanu reignites feud with Francis Molo over brutal knockout, Tonga vs Samoa, fired up for rematch

Fans are desperately hoping that Tonga coach Kristian Woolf makes a late switch to his starting pack so we can see two behemoths renew their rivalry after last year’s fiery encounter.

Prop forward Stefano Utoikamanu still hasn’t forgotten about being knocked out by Samoan enforcer Francis Molo inside the opening two minutes of their Pacific Championships clash in Brisbane.

Utoikamanu was making his debut for Tonga after playing a couple of Tests for their rivals, but his first match was over after just one carry when Molo’s shoulder smashed him in the head.

The Storm star missed the rest of the tournament while Molo copped a $390 fine for the incident and wasn’t sent to the sin bin.

“I think I said it last year, I felt like it was a bit s**t that I get knocked out and out for the game and he got nothing for it,” Utoikamanu told the NewsWire.

“But you know it is what it is, that’s the game, and I think I can only look forward from now. I’m glad I’ve been able to try to play my best footy and I’m looking to do that again this week.”

Utoikamanu has been named on the bench for Sunday’s showdown in Sydney which means he may not even cross paths with Molo who will start.

“I shook his hand after the game, it was all sweet,” he said.

“It’s just I felt like it was a bit s**t, refereeing wise and all that kind of stuff.

“But I know in a game, you can’t really control that kind of stuff. S**t happens in the game, but I was still disappointed because I was out for the rest of the campaign, so that was s**t.”

Utoikamanu doesn’t need much motivation to fire up, with the star forward infamously lighting the fuse for the 2025 Grand Final when he called out some of the Broncos players.

But he knows he can’t put all his energy into one opponent given what’s at stake.

“Stuff like that is always a bit of motivation,” he said.

“I don’t think I really need to get too motivated going into most games. My mentality is to go out there and try to dominate the other pack, and that’s what I try to do every week at club land.

“I feel like over here with the forwards we have, everyone’s got the same mentality every week; we have to go out there, lay the platform, and try to dominate the other pack.”