Ireland warned to respect Samoa and their collection of New Zealand nearly men
SAMOA remain a dangerous proposition for Ireland at the World Cup, despite their problems on and off the field, says former captain Dan Leo.
The small Pacific Island nation have always punched above their weight at the global showpiece, reaching the quarter-finals in 1991 and 1995 – they also defeated Wales in 1999 – but they have been eliminated at the pool stage in the past four tournaments.
Samoa have been plagued by off-field issues in recent times with player release, governance and boardroom politics hindering progress and development.
Steve Jackson – who had a stint with Cork club Dolphin in the 1990s – was drafted in as Samoa’s new head coach late last year after the country secured their place at the World Cup in Japan thanks to a play-off victory over Germany.
Samoa have slid down to 17th in the world rankings and face Ireland in their Pool A match in Fukuoka on October 12, a week before the quarterfinals, but Leo feels all that adversity may galvanise them at the World Cup.
‘There’s been a lot of turnover with coaches, strength and conditioning and high-performance staff – even in the player ranks,’ he said.
‘That’s not necessarily an indication of how the Samoan team will go by the way.
‘It’s been proven that when it’s been all smooth sailing our teams actually perform worse than when we’ve had tough build-ups.
‘It’s a tough group. I think Samoa are just happy to be there. At one point it was looking quite unlikely. It’ll be interesting.
‘We’ve got some tough Tests coming up, at home and away, before that but Steve Jackson has got his work cut out. There’s a lot of politics that comes with coaching Samoa that he’ll need to navigate.’
‘If he can stay away from that and keep the players task-focused than the quality is there. We’ve got the players, it’s just whether they can pull it together in time.’
Despite all their issues, Samoa will still be able to call upon an impressive roster of talent, sourced from across the globe.
Back in December, Jackson revealed that he had already been contacted by numerous players who were expressing an interest in going to Japan.
Samoa could potentially field a Test pack containing Newcastle tighthead Logovi’i Mulipola, London Irish hooker Motu Matu’u, Toulouse lock Joe Tekori and Bristol flanker Jack Lam. Out wide, they can call upon exciting backs such as Clermont’s Tim Nanai Williams, Cardiff centre Rey Lee Lo and Newcastle speed merchant Sinoti Sinoti. They appear to be a bit light at half-back, but Jackson is also looking at the possibility of drafting talent from New Zealand’s domestic game. ‘Set piece is probably still a bit of a trouble and there’s a lack of depth at nine and 10 but I think it’s all about how many players they can get to commit from Super Rugby,’ added Leo.
‘I think that’s what they’re hoping to do.
‘Some of the guys who aren’t going to be there or thereabouts for New Zealand are going to put their hands up for Samoa.
‘It only takes three of four of those players in your ranks to make a massive difference as we say.
‘To cut a long story short, who knows? That’s the exciting thing about Pacific Islands rugby. But it’s tough to see past Ireland winning that group.’