The sacking of the Manu Samoa sevens coaching team should not come as a surprise. These positions are judged on performance and results. If the results are not forthcoming, then there are consequences.

This happened to Manu Samoa XV coach Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua and his team when he did not produce the results. Sir Gordon Tietjens went through a similar scenario. Earlier this year, Englishman Ben Gollings was sacked as the Fiji sevens coach after failing to win in any World Sevens Series tournament.

Internationally, the axe has fallen on several heads. Sir Eddie Jones was sacked as the Wallabies coach after the 2023 Rugby World Cup. In 2022, Wayne Pivac was removed as the Wales coach after losing to Georgia.

After two seasons of poor finishes, even Aaton Mauger resigned as the Moana Pasifika coach. Ian Foster left the All Blacks after the 2023 World Cup.

The coach’s seat is a hot one and is based on performance. The fact is that Manua Samoa sevens have not been performing well.

For Muliagatele Brian Lima to say that he was shocked and disappointed that Lakapi Samoa ended his contract prematurely is a surprise. He should have known that with the results from the last season of the World Sevens Series, the promotion-relegation tournament in Madrid, and then the Olympic Games.

In the 2022/2023 season, Manu Samoa sevens were the toast of the town. The team won in Cape Town and brought home the gold medal from that tournament. The team was well placed and an automatic qualification for the Olympic Games was in sight.

However, as the year progressed, other teams improved and Manu Samoa kept slipping. At the end of the 2022/2023 season, Samoa failed to make the cut for the Olympic Games. If the three Oceania teams, Australia, Fiji and New Zealand had not already qualified, the Oceania 7s Championship would have been a different story and so would have been the Olympic Games qualification.

In the last season, except for Dubai, the team did not make it out of the pool stages. The maximum point from a single tournament was 10 and that was in Dubai. Following Dubai, the team just brought a couple of points, the highest being six from Los Angeles.

Manu Samoa sevens finished 11^th, which is the second last position in the table. This finish meant that Manu Samoa’s position as a core team was not on the line. All Manu Samoa had to do was finish as one of the top two teams.

This was not achieved as the team lost all their games even to Chile. The heartbreak continued at the Olympic Games. To simply put it, as proud as we are of our sevens team, the results have not been forthcoming.

It will be good to review the season and find out where we went wrong and how we can improve; the focus should be on gathering a large group of players including some from the age-grade levels. We know that for Samoa to climb back into core status, it has to have a good outing at the Oceania Championships.

That way they make the Challenger Series. A top-end finish is needed from the Challenger Series to make it to the promotion tournament.

Lakapi Samoa has stated that the vacant position of the sevens coach would not be advertised now but it should be.

The Oceania tournament is at the start of November. This means that effectively there are only two months to select an extended squad and get them ready for the tournament. This may be just enough time.

In the interim, a successful club coach should be given the reins of the team. The selection of players must be based on performance and fitness levels. There should be no exception. A lot of questions have been raised about the selection of the current sevens team, however, the best thing to do now is not dwell on the past but look to the future.

Manu Samoa sevens was a feared and respected team. When players like Uale Mai, Lolo Lui, Ofisa Treviranus and Mikaele Pesamino used to be part of the team, nothing short of a final would have done.

We need to get a team that can bring back the glory of sevens. Muliagatele Brian Lima tried his best and gave his all but the results were not there. He is a great rugby player and will always be.

We need to focus on our sevens game. Let us wait and see if the next set of coaches, management and players can turn the tide around.