Folau Fa'atasi - Manu Samoa Journey Together Towards RWC
By Thomas Airey
Manu Samoa are officially a top-10 rugby team in the world for the first time in eight years but head coach Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua said his team are not under any more pressure than usual.
Vaovasamanaia, who has guided the Manu to eight wins and three losses (7-1 in test matches) since taking the reins in 2021, said high expectations from fans are always part and parcel of playing for Samoa.
“That’s been there regardless of what our ranking has been,” he said.
“For us it’s really accepting and embracing that our people are very passionate about this team and its performances. I think it just adds to the motivation.”
Manu Samoa’s current squad of 40 players assembled in Samoa on July 1, spending two weeks embedded with their people and that passion across the islands of Upolu and Savai’i.
Vaovasamanaia said cultural activities like rowing the fautasi under the guidance of legendary skipper Vaimasenu'u Zita Martel set the team up well for the rest of the year.
“Usually when we go on tour we assemble on a Sunday and have to play on Saturday,” the coach said.
“It was really good to get those connections in. One thing we do lack, Manu Samoa and Pacific rugby in general, is time, time together.”
That marked the beginning of Samoa’s 'folau faatasi', or journey together, to the Rugby World Cup in France this September and October.
“Folau faatasi is about if you wanna go fast, go alone; if you wanna go far, go together,” Vaovasamanaia explained, adding that together applies beyond the team to all the supporters and Samoans across the world.
“We don’t shy away from the responsibility that we have of representing our people.
“The tapuaiga, the support of our people is really important.”
That support will be more tangible than ever on Saturday when the Manu host the Flying Fijians at Apia Park in their first home game in over four years.
Samoa are firm favourites as well, having beaten Fiji 23-20 in Lautoka last year to clinch the Pacific Nations Cup.
“Over the last few years Fiji has been very consistent in being one of the strongest teams in the Pacific and we can’t discount that after one game,” Vaovasamanaia said.
“I’m under no illusions in terms of how hard our game is going to be on Saturday.”
He added that while moving up the World Rugby Rankings is nice, the team aren’t focused on any increased recognition.
“It’s great we’re building momentum which is probably the most important thing,” Vaovasamanaia said.
“To be consistent in our performances is really what I’m after.”
Samoa opened their 2023 campaign with a 24-22 win over Japan in Sapporo last weekend, which Vaovasamanaia sees as a great platform to build from.
“We did make a lot of mistakes but the boys showed a lot of grit to stay in the fight,” he said.
“Right at the end there we could have easily given a penalty away, we were being put under a lot of pressure.”
There were Manu debuts for former Wallaby and All Black greats Christian Leali’ifano and Charlie Faumuina, and Vaovasamanaia said they and other new recruits, many of whom have also switched their international eligibility, have added a lot of talent and professionalism to his squad.
The coach said it has not been easy to balance adding those players with rewarding the incumbent squad for getting Samoa to where they are now.
“My task is to select the best team available to represent Samoa,” he said.
“Whoever comes in, the environment and the culture take care of whether they end up staying or not.”
Just 13 of the 23 that played Japan last week will take the field this Saturday with Vaovasamanaia rotating his squad to get a good look at all players.
He said at this point team selections are about ranking the best players in each position to narrow his squad down to the 33 players that can attend the World Cup.
“There’s a lot to play for in these next two games but also in the training weeks,” Vaovasamanaia added.
Star loose forwards Theodore McFarland and Sa Jordan Taufua are both set to return from long-term injuries in the next few weeks while Lima Sopoaga will soon join the team from France where he has been stranded awaiting a visa to move to his new club in Japan after the World Cup.
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2023 Manu Samoa fixtures (all local time)
Japan (22-24) Samoa - July 22 in Sapporo
Samoa (19-33) Fiji - July 29 in Apia
Samoa vs Tonga - August 5 in Apia
Barbarians vs Samoa - August 18 in Brive
Ireland vs Canada - August 27 in Bayonne
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Rugby World Cup Pool D
Samoa vs Chile - September 16 in Bordeaux
Argentina vs Samoa - September 22 in Saint Etienne
Japan vs Samoa – September 28 in Toulouse
England vs Samoa - October 7 in Lille
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