Reviewing Samoan rugby league and union

Dear Editor

Re: Such fantastic fun up at the ‘technically bankrupt’ Samoa Rugby Union

The Rugby Migraine Infecting Both Codes.

The Samoa Rugby Union and their money woes are just as painful a migraine as the Rugby League Samoa and their disastrous record at this year’s World Cup. Both codes are in fast free-fall to see who hit’s rock bottom first.

Firstly, let’s take a look at Samoa Rugby Union. The Chairman and C.E.O. of S.R.U. are trying to take us on a guided tour of financial jargons like debt, insolvent, and bankrupt. Please save it for your board meetings and when you do arm wrestles with World Rugby.

If the S.R.U. officials are intelligent people, according to its Chairman, why bother with a panel to select a head coach?

The statement from World Rugby says that a record £1.5 million (T$5million) was investment in 2017, specifically including:

• Directly funding all insurance costs for the national 15s players while on international duty,...but the recent Radiothon is Apia was also organised by the Union, apparently to pay for the Manu Samoa players insurance and other things.

Either someone is fibbing here or we are to believe that it’s normal for insurance to be paid twice.

This ugly saga is not confined to the pages of Samoa Observer. This is world news and 6.7 billion people are laughing at us.

I’d love to be a fly on the wall when the Chairmen from S.R.U. and World Rugby finally get to meet.

Oh! and another thing. Be careful what you wish for Mr. Editor. If this saga is turned into a movie, there may not be any actors intelligent enough to play the parts of S.R.U. officials.

Now, let’s look at Rugby League Samoa.

Why is there a deafening silence from R.L.S. management with regards to our winless record at the Rugby League World Cup? Do we, the public, deserve a word or two to explain Toa Samoa’s substandard performance? Perhaps we don’t matter.

Maybe they’re thinking as long as the heat and spotlight is on Samoa Rugby Union, Rugby League Samoa’s shame is safely tucked away in the shadows and soon no one would question or talk about it. Wrong.

There needs to be a statement to convince their major sponsors (Investsamoa.ws and Vailima) and most importantly, the people of Samoa that they deserved better. Their post mortem may take some time so I’m hopeful we’ll hear something from them later.

Meantime, why don’t we chew on that chill pill, lick our wounds and support out Tongan and Fijian cousins? To see Tonga or Fiji in the final at the R.L.W.C. would be a mild way to ease the pain of our rugby migraine.

 

Haych

Samoa Observer

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