Neil Barrett | Contributing Writer
Whenever a Pacific Island team arrives during the Autumn Internationals, the usual reaction of the Irish rugby fan is to dismiss them as entertaining, but no real threat. Last year’s 53-0 thrashing of Fiji would reinforce that view. Many will look at Samoan’s seventh-place world ranking, one place ahead of Ireland, as the result of the type of mathematical anomaly that plagues the ranking system of every major sport. It couldn’t be an accurate of reflection of their playing standard, surely? However, nothing could be further from the truth. They are ranked ahead of us purely on merit, and not as the result of some algorithmic aberration.
Recent changes to IRB regulations have ensured that all national teams are guaranteed at least a week of preparation before the designated international test match windows, which has allowed countries such as Samoa to form a much more organised, cohesive game-plan. Due to the relative poverty of the country and its population of less than 200,000, there is no professional game in Samoa. As such, Samoa’s players are scattered throughout the professional leagues of the rest of the world. Naturally, assembling a squad based in numerous countries is a logistical nightmare, let alone coaching them into a unit capable of excelling in a test-match. They were also guaranteed less than week together to gel as a team. Whereas the unions of the established “tier one” nations have always enjoyed plenty of time before games with their squads fully intact, this is a relatively new luxury for the Samoans. As such, they are much better equipped to compete at the highest level than before.
But what differences have increased preparation time, increased funding from the IRB and better player conditioning really made for the Samoan national team? To answer that question, we have to look at Samoan rugby over the last couple of decades. Over the years, Samoa have occasionally pulled off shock results against rugby’s top teams, with their innate rugby ability never in question; lack of structure was always the issue. They famously eliminated Wales from both the 1991 and 1999 World Cups. They also battered a shell-shocked Ireland team in Lansdowne Road in 1996, ratcheting up forty points in the process, in an awesome display of attacking verve in tandem with raw physicality. But why were victories like these so rare given the obvious talent of the players?
Outside of the funding issue, there is just one main reason – the familiar problem of lack of preparation time. Resultant knock-on problems from this included lack of structure, lack of professionalism and suspect fitness levels, meaning that Samoa struggled to compete on a consistent basis. When everything clicked they continued to achieve some memorable victories, but they were rare. With euphoric highs such as the crushing away victory over Argentina in 2005, came catastrophic lows such as the shambolic 2007 World Cup campaign and the humiliating concession of one hundred points against New Zealand the following year.
Samoa have landed a number of big wins in recent years
Over the last couple of seasons, however, tangible progress has been made and Samoan rugby is finally fulfilling its long-known potential, with the team performing well on a consistent basis for the first time in history. Impressive showings against tier-one nations are now the norm, with 2009 proving to be a watershed year. In the wake of a tsunami that savaged the Samoan coastline in September 2009, the rugby team produced an emotionally-charged performance of immense commitment and physicality, unluckily going down 17-13 to a stunned Welsh outfit. Rather than regress as normal, Samoa kicked on, with their reward a sensational away victory over Australia, as they outgunned the would-be Tri-Nations champions and world’s second-ranked side in Sydney in July 2011. Their buccaneering offloading game was employed to devastating effect against a cocky Australian outfit, as the big men out wide came forward in marauding waves. This attacking brilliance was backed up by resolute defence and acceptable fitness levels for the first time, and the much-hyped Australian side couldn’t cope.
Despite a paucity of matches against tier-one nations since then, they built on what is considered their greatest ever victory with a fully-deserved humbling of Six Nations Grand Slam champions, Wales, last November. Now on something of a roll, the test series of June saw a more confident and organised Samoa comfortably dismiss the challenge of Scotland before thrashing Italy 39-10. These games also marked new beginning for Samoan rugby: for the first time they didn’t seem surprised that they’d beaten a better country at the final whistle. They expected to win.
This Samoan rugby team have added real structure at the set-piece and defensive discipline to their renowned attacking play. With their natural size and speed thrown in, they now represent a serious threat to the established world order of international rugby.
Samoa still have players dotted all over the world. The Irish media have been moaning about Jonathan Sexton having to commute from France for international duty, but the entire Samoan squad must do that, and from further afield. Dealing with different players’ respective jet-lag timetables must be a nightmare. Add in the miniscule population, poaching of their best young talent by Australia and New Zealand and a severe lack of funding and it’s a miracle that Samoa have begun to regularly embarrass the established nations. Even now, Samoa have only match against a tier-one nation in this Autumn’s test series, in contrast to everyone else’s three or four. They need regular exposure to the best teams to develop further.
Brian O’Driscoll is set to start tomorrow. Paul O’Connell will captain the side.
As for tomorrow, expect the usual big hits, line breaks and offloads, but without the old Samoan downfalls of defensive sloppiness and dysfunctional set-pieces. Samoa are hampered by the absence of two of their best players, human-wrecking ball centre Seilala Mapusua and, bigger, faster human wrecking-ball winger Alesana Tuilagi. They do have the gargantuan Johnston brothers, Census and James, in the propping department, both of whom weigh in at a colossal 140kg. They also have juggernaut Logovi Mulipola to come off the bench in the same position, another man tipping the scales. Leinster fans still have nightmares about second-row Joe Tekori, who played a major part in Castres’ near-derailment of the province’s 08-09 Heineken Cup campaign. He was also influential in Castres’ surprise French league triumph last term, and has now moved to Europe’s most successful ever club, Toulouse. He brings the predictable strength and the not so predictable speed and agility for a man who is 6’6” and 122kg. Indeed, the weight of their eight starting forwards is just shy of a metric tonne, the heaviest international pack in a while, possibly ever. Expect a fierce physical battle.
Kahn Fotuali’i is the pick of the bunch at scrum-half. While he has struggled to settle in at new club Northampton this year, he was most pundits’ choice as the world’s best scrum-half while performing for the Ospreys last season. Expect a classy display from one of the world’s best.
The cerebral approach of David Lemi on the wing belies the Samoan stereotype, and he will look to use skill and elusiveness to penetrate the Irish defence rather than brute force. Fullback and captain Paul Williams is another man who plays with brain rather than brawn; expect plenty of effective tactical kicking, intelligent forays into the line and silky link-up play. George Pisi at centre ensures that Samoa will have at least one traditional bosh merchant to get over the gain line in attack, as well as stymie Irish momentum with big tackles in defence.
Prediction time. Ireland last played Samoa in November 2010, ultimately emerging victorious on a scoreline of 20-10, but being fortuitous in needing a late try to do so. With the commencement of the Joe Schmidt era ushering in a feel-good factor in the Ireland camp, despite my endless promotion of the Samoan team, Ireland should still win. Eoin Reddan’s words during the week about the sincere respect Ireland have for the Samoan team makes any complacency unlikely, and every man selected will be very eager to make a good first impression on the new gaffer.
