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St Helens’ Sione Mata’utia will be ready for her brother Peter in their clash on Thursday
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Brothers Sione and Peter Mata’utia can’t promise there won’t be a fight when they first meet in the Super League.
The pair have faced each other in the past in the NRL with ugly consequences, and sparks could spring when Sione’s St Helens take on Peter’s Castleford in the Betfred Super League at Totally Wicked Stadium on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Arena.
Their scheduled Challenge Cup final meeting never took place when Sione was given a one-game suspension, while the league game between the clubs in June was called off because the Tigers failed. could not form a team.
The duo faced off in a zoom press conference Wednesday afternoon and Peter, the eldest of the four rugby brothers, shed light on their fiery relationship on the pitch.
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“We’ve been up against each other a lot in the past and we’ve had a few punches and stuff like that,” he said.
“I think it’s because we don’t treat each other any differently, it just feels like it’s a little personal but it never has been.
“Growing up, I always told my brothers that it doesn’t matter who you go up against, whether it’s your cousin or your own brother, if they don’t wear the same jersey as you, you don’t treat them any different than you do. doesn’t matter who else.
“That’s the feeling everyone will have on Thursday. I will treat him the same as any other player. “
Peter, who is in his final season with Castleford as he prepares to join Warrington, started his career with the Newcastle Knights but faced his brothers during a stint at St George Illawarra.
“When one of my teammates had a carry once, I could see one of my brothers coming in as the third man, so I kind of blocked him and he didn’t like it,” a- he declared.
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Peter Mata’utia in action for Cas
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“He grabbed my collar and sent me flying. I didn’t like it so I chased him. This is how it started.
“I hope it’s different this time, I’m trying to be more professional about it, but honestly it depends on what Sione is doing to me this time.” “
Sione, the youngest of the four brothers at 25, admits that he may have been the instigator in the past.
He said: “I remember a time when I probably crossed the line and threw a cheeky little elbow while he was on the ground and it all started after that.
“It’s going to be fun, but at the end of the day we have a job to do and we have to try to focus on our team’s goals. “
If things get ugly on Thursday night, the Mata’utia brothers can expect a quick scolding from their mother, who will be watching the game on TV from Australia.
“She can’t take it,” Sione said. “We are still her young children to her and she always calls us to tell us to stop fighting. “
Once the final whistle is blown on Thursday, the fighting will come to an end, and there was an emotional moment at the end of the Challenge Cup final when a tearful Peter received a consoling hug from Sione following the defeat of the Tigers 26-12.
“It was a bittersweet moment,” Sione recalls. “I used to celebrate like a mad monkey, and then seeing how Pete was as I approached, I kind of realized it was a pretty tough time for the other side.
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Peter Mata’utia was on the losing side when the Tigers lost to the Saints in the Challenge Cup final
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“I told him to keep his head up because he played very well and his team played very well. “
St Helens can lead the table, at least for 24 hours, with the win, while Castleford seek their first away win against the Saints since 1992.
“There’s a first time for everything,” Castleford coach Daryl Powell said. “We have to believe that we can go there and forget everything that happened in the past, it’s about what is happening now.
“We have a tough challenge to get into the Six, so we have to make it mean more to us than to them. “
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