Tough times have descended on Samoan rugby off the pitch but captain Chris Vui is adamant the tough-minded players can still produce the goods on it.
Even so, he says, it has been heartening to feel the international outpouring of support since the Samoan Rugby Union announced that it was effectively bankrupt and did not have money to meet some immediate commitments.
Reaction has been swift. Players and the RFU in England will be giving money to the side as a goodwill gesture when they head there at the end of the month, while a JustGiving page set up by Dan Leo, the former Samoa international, through the Pacific Rugby Players Welfare organisation has been attracting worldwide support.
“It is quite touching as players to see that; to see people caring,” Vui said. “It is quite cool that there are fans and loyal supporters, others who just love rugby, who care about us.”
So far, the Scots – despite the windfall of a near sell-out crowd at BT Murrayfield – have steered clear of helping beyond their obligation to pay Samoa’s tour costs while in the country. They say their concrete demonstration of support was playing in Samoa five years ago.
Will that provide the Islanders with even more motivation at Murrayfield tomorrow? Vui would not be drawn on that, preferring to concentrate on the brotherhood and pride he feels is a core part of his side.
“We will do what we do,” he said. “All we can do is represent our country as well as we can and play with pride. That other stuff is out of our hands but the pride in our jersey, the respect for our jersey, is huge for us. We will always get though the dark times. The brotherhood we have, the pride in our country and wearing the jersey will get us through.”
As the finances have crumbled the playing side as suffered as well. The side who were ranked seventh in the world four years ago, have slumped to 16th. Most worrying of all, the team that was one of the seeds in the last World Cup has failed to secure one of the two Oceania qualification spots for the next one and face a play-off next summer.
“We have a tight group here; the bonding we have is great,” said Vui. “In the time in Scotland the bond between us has been awesome. We are here to try and get our country where it should be rugby wise; our sole focus is to get our country back to where it should be. Every campaign is a new campaign, you have to start somewhere. The guys have learned from their mistakes.”
It is very much a new-look side. Only five of the 23 were involved in the game against Scotland in the last World Cup, and Vui, who is only 24 and is winning is sixth cap, is getting his first taste of leading the side.
“It is a huge honour to captain your country, it does not come often,” he said. “It was a surprise and a big honour. I will love to lead my country out there for the first time.”
There are some familiar faces, however. Ray Lee-Lo, the centre. ripped the Scots midfield apart the last time they met, and Paul Perez, the wing who is a clubmate of Richie Gray at Toulouse, feels he has points to prove.
“The Newcastle [World Cup] game, it was a nightmare,” he said, though his real beef is with the 2012 game where he was haring off for the try that would have sealed the game only to be called back on a highly contentious decision from a touch judge.
He admits it still rankles: “Especially during the World Cup it inspired me. It was not fair. I had given my all playing in front of the fans back home. I am still angry about it,” he said. “It [the game] would have been a different story [if the try had been given].”
As it was, Scotland snatched the win in extra time, adding to the catalogue of chips on the Samoan shoulders: dodgy decisions, fading results, money woes – they all add up and add to their determination.
“We just do it for the jersey and our loved ones back home,” said Perez. “It matters a lot. We are a poor country so we just do it for the jersey.”
Samoa: A Tuala; P Perez, K Fonotia, R Lee-Lo, D Lemi; T Nanai Williams, P Cowley; J Lay, M Leiataua, D Brighouse, J Tyrell, C Vui capt, P Fa’Asalele, TJ Ioane, J Lam. Replacements - M Matu’u, J Lay, H Sasagi, F Lemalu, O Treviranus, M Matavao, A Alatimu, A Leiua
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here