Head Coach of the Manu Samoa Sevens Team, Muliagatele Brian Lima has reassured the public that the information circulating on social media and the accusations of mistreatment of players are false.

The Manu Samoa legend and World Rugby Hall of Famer told this newspaper in an exclusive interview last week that he was shocked and disappointed over what has been shared online by a former Manu Samoa player, Elijah Niko. 

He added that Mr. Niko did not bring up the concerns he raised on social media directly with him or the team management. 

"Most of the things he has written on social media are not true," Muliagatele said. 

"He doesn't even have evidence to prove his allegations. Elijah approached us with his intention to come and play for Manu Samoa. So he was made aware of our policy for overseas Samoan players wanting to come play for Samoa. 

"If you want to play for Samoa, you have to earn a spot just like our local players. And the policy that we have is that you will pay for your airfares to come to Samoa and train together with our local boys. 

"Once you get selected for the national team, Lakapi Samoa will refund your money."

He then addressed the concerns raised by Mr. Niko regarding the training allowances the players are offered. 

"He made it sound like the players only get a $200 tala allowance for the entire time they train. The policy is that our players get training allowances which range from $150 to $300 tala, depending on your experiences and the standard you have reached. 

"There is a misunderstanding there because Elijah is a professional player from overseas coming to play for an amateur union. 

"We are not a professional union so we pay our players with the little money that we get. 

"But there are also other allowances offered to our players once they get picked to represent our country in the international arena. They get over NZD$1,000 per game. 

"It's sad and disappointing because Elijah never said anything when we worked together preparing for the Oceania."

Muliagatele then went on to explain why Elijah was not selected for the Manu Samoa dream team for Oceania last year, with the hope of securing a place to compete in the Olympics. 

"Performance-wise, he (Elijah) was not up to the level that we expected, hence why he was not selected for the Olympic Qualifiers. 

"There was a need to recondition his body because he played fifteens and not sevens. His fitness was not also up to the standards we want and we train our players so they are at a certain level ahead of any tournament. 

"So when he was not selected, we told him that there was another chance for him to play for our sevens team and be part of our team that went to the Pacific Games. 

"However, he said he wanted to go back and did not want to play in the Pacific Games. After that, there was no indication that he was not happy and he has never said anything to us."

Muliagatele conveyed his dissatisfaction with the accusations, highlighting that they have significantly marred the reputation of the team's management and had a detrimental impact on the players.

"People might take what he has said as the truth and it's not a good look for us because he is saying we are not treating our players well. 

"We are also not holding back players from going overseas if they are offered contracts. We train our players and offer them what our union can afford with the hope of developing them to become professional players. 

"From experience, as I also played as a professional player in France, we want to prepare our players so when they get opportunities to play overseas, they would be well-equipped for that. 

"We also offer them what we can afford and our players understand that we are a small country and we try to make ends meet with the little that we have. 

"Our players are up to that level. We have produced some good players who are now playing professionally in overseas countries like Theodore McFarland, Va'a Apelu Maliko and Melani Matavao. 

"These are our local players who trained with the rest of our teams and had their skills and talents developed. They all endured the hard training and put up with the intensity of our routines and it paid off for them. 

"For us, that's what we want for our players. For them to excel and be the best they can be. And their success is our success too. 

"If they managed to secure an overseas contract we would be thrilled because that's the main objective of what we are trying to do here. We want our players not only to do well in representing our country but get an opportunity to play professional rugby. 

"However, we want them to get what they deserve. We know our players well and what they are capable of. 

"Some of these players are ready to get contracts with the Top 14 in France. However, when we know they are capable and deserve better and they end up with contracts in the third division, it's disappointing. 

"We don't want them to go just for the sake of going. We know they deserve better and the more players we send overseas the more chances will be available for other local players we have."

Muliagatele had a simple message for overseas Samoan players wanting to put up their hand to serve their country.

"We welcome them if they want to earn a spot for our national team," Muliagatele said. 

"But they need to be reminded that even if you are a professional player, once you decide to come to Samoa to earn a spot to play for our national team, you will not be treated differently from our local players.