Samoa to utilise Pacific Rugby Cup as preparation for Rugby World Cup
Henry Bryce in for a try. photo Zoomfiji
Story: AFP
APIA (Samoa): Samoa have hailed this year’s revamped Pacific Rugby Cup (PRC) as an ideal opportunity for the national side to improve their depth ahead of this year’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The PRC, which begins in Australia tomorrow, will pit A teams from Samoa, Tonga and Fiji against development sides from Australian and New Zealand Super 15 franchises for the first time this year.
The tournament previously only involved sides from the Pacific nations and Samoa Rugby Union (SRU) vice-chairman Lefau Harry Schuster said exposure to Super 15 opponents would provide valuable experience before the World Cup.
“This new format is an excellent opportunity as well as great preparation for us in this World Cup year,” he said.
“We know there are a number of positional weaknesses and these matches will help us address those.”
Schuster said Samoa were particularly on the lookout for emerging talent at first five-eighth and half-back.
“We do have people like Faatonu Fili, Tasesa Lavea and Roger Warren in the mix but through these competitions, we’re hoping to identify others that will strengthen this crucial match-winning area,” he said.
Samoa A will play the Brumbies Runners in Canberra in their PRC opener tomorrow, with Tonga A facing the Junior NSW Waratahs and Fiji Warriors up against the Queensland Red Academy.
The new PRC format sees the Pacific nations A teams play six matches against Super 15 development teams in Australia and New Zealand before facing each other in a round robin competition in Fiji next month.
Schuster said Samoa wanted to maintain momentum leading into the World Cup in New Zealand after the national side enjoyed a revival last year.
“We know we have one of the most difficult (World Cup) pools,” he said.
“With South Africa, Wales, Fiji and Namibia, it’s not a pushover, so we need to get our preparations and logistics close to an exact science.
“These series of tournaments will certainly help. At the end of the day, it comes down to us and what we can make of it. We know we have the players to win the World Cup.” – AFP