Manu Samoa Sevens are in the final stages of preparations for the Oceania 7s Championships in November later this year as this would give them a final chance to qualify for the Olympic Games.

Rugby Sevens has been part of the Olympic Games since 2016 and Samoa is yet to participate in the Olympic Games events.

 As a part of this preparation, Head Coach, Muliagatele Brian Lima, management and team held a three– day boot camp at Return to Paradise Resort two weekends ago.

 “We are grateful for the support from Return to Paradise Resort managing director and staff, this is a great place to prepare, we’ve had previous camps at the resort over the years for team preparations and we’ve always believed it contributes so much to the team preparations hence our continuous use – and beyond that the 100 per cent excellent service it provides” said team manager Tuala Pat Leota.

Muliagatele said they were focused and wanted to make the Olympic Games in Paris and wanted to bring back home a medal.

“With regards to the scheduled calendar of events for Rugby 7s, our team are in preparations for the upcoming Oceania 7s Tournament which will be held in Brisbane, Australia from 10 – 12 November 2023,” he said.

“This will also act as an Olympic qualifying event for the Oceania region. Samoa has never qualified to take part in the Rugby 7s event of the Olympic games, for that reason our main aim is to achieve this milestone and make history for our beautiful Samoa.”

While the boot camp sole focus was intense training and preparations, the highlight was the participation of the Manu Samoa 7s boys for the Saturday night Maeva Concert, where they performed their spirited Siva Tau that thrilled the in-house guests and visitors and everyone that attended.

General Manager Afamasaga Ramona Su’a Pale Gilchrist told the Manu Samoa Sevens Boys that the  whole Return to Paradise family give all support and will be there with them throughout their journey towards the Oceania 7s Tournament and beyond.

“We know that Lakapi Samoa is struggling for funds in the aftermath of Covid-19, therefore I confirm our full-time support for the boys however they can, because with the effects of the Global Pandemic, we simply could not afford to do this on our own” he said.

The scheduled boot camp for the Manu Samoa 7s was made possible by the tremendous help and support from some of the business community.