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 The Manu Samoa team arrived in Paris on Friday after almost three weeks at the prestigious sports university, London’s Loughborough University.
Head coach La’auli Michael Jones says the Manu’s final training camp at Loughborough has been invaluable preparation for the World Cup campaign. It had given the team the best possible build-up to do well at the 2007 tournament.
However, the build-up has come at a cost. Prop Donald Kerslake and Lock/No. 8 Filipo Levi have both been ruled out with injuries. Kerslake (broken ribs) and Levi (eye) have been replaced by Alfie Tooala and Tanielu Fuga respectively. Both replacement players play professionally in Europe and are available .Despite the injuries Laauli says he was happy with how the squad performed at their three-week training camp and is looking forward to their first-up match with SouthAfrica. The camp helped the Manu achieve five important goals says Laauli: improving match fitness after many of the squad had not played since June; testing team combinations; cementing selections for the first match; introducing elements of their game plan; and building team morale.
In a previous interview, Laauli outlined why Loughborough was crucial, “People know what to expect from Samoa so we cant sneak up on them like we did in 2003. They know what we can do what we’re capable of. So we are approaching every game as a target.“We have to target the South African game and try and roll them. Then we have to get past Tonga, who are very similar to us and can cause an upset. They play the same way and they could beat us, then we have to play England six days later. In 2003 we got our easy pool games out of the way first and then stepped up against England, but this time we have to be ready to go from the first game and that’s why Loughborough was so important.”
Samoa's first match against South Africa (RSA) is on Sunday, 9 September at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
On the social side, Su’a P. Schuster by email wrote, “The team attended church service in the morning, had lunch and a sightseeing tour of Paris. The team visited Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Louvre museum. Manu Samoa was accorded a special opportunity to witness the original painting of Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci. It was ‘Awesome stuff’.” Su’a went on to write, “…there is a lot of interest in the RWC in France and the Manu Samoa team was greeted with interest by people at the sites visited.”
Messages from well-wishers are pouring in which the team is grateful to and drawing inspiration from.
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Accommodation
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Dates
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Address
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Fax Numbers:
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Base Camp Paris - Courtyard by Marriot Neuilly Paris
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Aug 31 - 25 September
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Courtyard - 58, Boulevard Victor Hugo
92200 Neuilly Sur Seine Paris Fance
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Fax: 33 1 55636466
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Match 2 - Mercure Antigone
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15 - 17 September
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285, Boulevard de l'Aeroport - 34000
Montpellier France
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Match 3 - Mercure Ile de Nantes
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21 - 23 September
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15 Boulevard Alexandre Millerand, 44200 Nantes France
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Fax : (+33)2/40482383
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Match 4 - La Charpiniere
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25 - 27 September
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La Charpiniere, 42330 Saint Galmier
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Fax : +33 (0)4 77 54 18 79
E-mail :
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Internet : http://www.lacharpiniere.com
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MANU SAMOA RWC GAMES:
FRENCH TIMES: SAMOAN TIME
• South Africa – 9th Sept 2007, Paris at 4:00pm Sunday 9 September, 3.00am
• Tonga – 16th Sept 2007, Montpellier at 4:00pm Sunday 16 September, 3.00am
• England – 22nd Sept 2007, Nantes at 4:00pm Saturday, 22 September, 3.00am
• USA – 26th Sept 2007, St Etienne at 6:00pm Wednesday, 26 Sept, 3.00am
• QF 1 & 3 – 6th & 7th Oct , Marseille 3:00pm Sat 6 Oct 2.00am/Sun 7 Oct 2.00am
• SF 1& 2 -13th & 14th, St Denis Paris 9:00pm Sat 13 Oct 2am/Sun 14 Oct 2.00am
• Final 20th Oct 2007, Paris 9:00pm Saturday 20 October, 8.00am
Profiles:
Alfie Tooala
Position FLANKER
DOB 30 Jan 80
Height 186
Wgt 115kg
Test caps 6
Club Bristol, UK
Village Saleilua
Occupation Professional Rugby Player
Tanielu Tufuga
Position: Hooker
DOB: 17 Jul 73
Height: 182 cm
Wgt: 101 kg
Test Caps: 9
Club: Harlequins Club since 2000
Occupation: Professional Rugby Player |
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