Last Sunday morning saw Samoa beat Australia in Sydney in what is being billed as one of the major sporting shocks in any sport of 2011. But is this result, admittedly not something which this author would have expected, really the upset that the press would have us believe?
Samoa is a proud rugby nation with a history of producing some of the most skilful rugby players the sport has seen, players like Frank Bunce, Pat Lam and Brian Lima lit up pitches around the world during their careers, but as a national team Samoa has always suffered from players opting to play for New Zealand because of the financial incentives to do so, indeed playing for the land of the long white cloud was how players like Bunce and Lam came to prominence. Current All Blacks Mils Muliaina, Jerry Collins, Isaia Toeava and Casey Laulala are just four of the many Samoan-born players who have chosen to represent New Zealand, after having been educated there. When you consider that the total population of Samoa is about 170,000 the fact that they are even able to compete at the highest level in international rugby is phenomenal, to put this into perspective, it’s a population size the equivalent of a county the size of Meath. So when you consider all of this, the great win over the Wallabies is a turn up for the books.
But cast your mind back to last November in the Aviva Stadium, Samoa fielded a team which was very similar to the one they selected on Sunday. Ireland in turn for their part selected a second string side which was similar in strength to the one which the Wallabies put out on Sunday. Ireland won on that occasion, 20-10, but the game itself was an awful lot closer than many people anticipated beforehand. Two weeks later the Samoan travelled to Aberdeen to face a strong Scottish side and whilst they also were on the wrong end of a result on that occasion they lost by only a single score, 19-16. These two results should have served as a wake up to the rest of the rugby world.
Now take into consideration the quality of player available to Samoa at the current time. Top quality players who have been successful in European and Southern Hemisphere club competition, players of the calibre of Seilala Mapusua, Sailosi Tagicakibau, Alesana Tuilagi, Census Johnston and George Stowers are not only hugely talented players but they are also impressive physical specimens. In the past these players would have ended up emigrating of to play for New Zealand but now, thanks in part to the emergence of the professional game, they have been able to remain loyal to their home nation and still make a living of the game they love.
Samoa have a challenging group ahead of them in the World Cup with games against South Africa, Wales, Fiji and Namibia yet they will not fear any of those sides given their form over the past year. Wales, in particular, should be on their toes as the Samoans will target that game as being the one which would almost certainly guarantee qualification to the knockouts should they win. The Samoans will play a straigh up, hard, counter attacking game, just as they did against the Wallabies. They will be competive at the breakdown and could cause the Welsh problems in the lineout and scrum, particularly if Adam Jones doesn't start for Wales. In the backs expect the aforementioned Mapusua and Tuilagi to punch holes in the defense and with speedsters like David Lemi and Tagicakibau they have the potency to make the most of their oppurtunities.
One thing is for certain, this rugby world cup promises to be one of the most intriguing renewals of the competition in recent memory and you can bet that the Samoans will have a big part to play in the drama.
P.S. On a completely different note, well done to Darren Clarke on his great win at Royal St. Georges at the weekend. It is the defining victory of a career which many had feared was on the slide. Clarke has always worn his heart on his sleeve and it’s hard to think of a more popular winner than the big Northern Ireland man. Indeed, this golf season has been one of the most entertaining for many a year, Tiger who??!!
Ross McGuinness is a masters student in DCU studying business management. An opinionated, sports fanatic with delusions of journalistic grandeur! You can follow me on twitter @rossmcguinness
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