Samoa promise tough time for England

Samoan coach John Boe guaranteed big guns England and South Africa a tough ride through Pool C after issuing an emotional vow that his players will do their country proud at the Rugby World Cup.

The islanders face a tough task to qualify from Pool C ahead of either the Springboks or Clive Woodward’s England.

But Boe insisted the squad would give no quarter even though they have been decimated by player withdrawals in the turbulent weeks leading into the tournament.

England face Samoa in Melbourne on October 26 and Boe warned they will be met by a physical side fuelled by passion and playing with flair.

“We have a huge challenge ahead of us with the hardest pool of teams that the Manu has ever faced in all World Cups,” he told fans in a statement on Samoa’s official website, www.manusamoa.com.ws.

“We cannot guarantee results, but we will guarantee these things: 1 – We will make our traditional big hit tackles on defence; 2 – We will endeavour to use our traditional ‘Manu Magic’ flair on attack; 3 – We will push our big Samoan hearts to the limit and beyond.”

The Samoans congregated in New Zealand for a training camp before returning home for an official send-off.

Boe revealed his players had drawn inspiration from the return trip and issued a “huge fa’afetai (thank you) to our homeland”.

He said: “Our players come from all over the world but our homeland will always be our homeland.

“The love and support that we felt back home was something very special to our players. At all times in our games, our power and force behind our team will be our love for our families and people.

“You people are the heart of the Manu Samoa, and you can sure that we will do our absolute best for you all.”