Winning everything for Samoans

Samoa’s World Cup campaign could come to an end at the Suncorp Stadium tomorrow – but Pool C opponents South Africa can still expect a fearsome challenge.

The Springboks are favourites to topple the South Sea Islanders and book a probable quarter-final appointment with New Zealand in Melbourne on Saturday week.

A last-eight prize is also within Samoa’s reach though, and coach John Boe will demand a massive effort from his players after their heroic exploits against England last Sunday.

“This week, we have focused on how we can be better,” said Boe.

“We did not come here just to make up the numbers, we seriously came here to play. We wanted to beat England, and we were disappointed that we didn’t.

“They are the world’s number one (team), and we were disappointed. That’s the attitude you have got to have at this level, and our boys have got that attitude.

“This week, we have focused on getting better and hopefully winning. It is an enormous challenge, we know that, but we are sports people and we want to take the attitude that we are going to have a go.

“We want to try and win, and what happens happens, but we will certainly be doing our best to win for our people.”

If Samoa are to threaten South Africa, then they will need to keep their stamina and composure during the final quarter, a time in Melbourne when England really got on top and punished them.

“We were winning for 64 minutes – we were ahead on the scoreboard – and then I think we started to make a lot of mistakes,” Boe added.

“I guess that has to be expected when you are against a truly professional team, training all the time and in training camps for weeks. We came together a couple of weeks before the tournament.

“So I think our fitness level showed us up a little bit, and England continued on in their clinical manner, grinding us down.

“With 20-25 minutes to go, we were starting to make a lot of mistakes. But it is not easy, because our boys have not always been playing at that intensity.

“England had high-quality Test matches over the past few months, and we have not had that, but it is an 80-minute game, not a 64-minute game.”

The Springboks have preferred inexperienced fly-half Derick Hougaard to Louis Koen, and drafted hooker John Smit and prop Faan Rautenbach into their front-row, while one enforced Samoan switch sees Romi Ropati at centre instead of broken thumb victim Terry Fanolua.

“South Africa are an awesome team with an awesome tradition. They beat Australia this year, and in the second Tri-Nations Test against the All Blacks, they pushed them to the wire,” Boe said.

“We have tremendous respect for them, and I must say we have been over there this year and also last year, and the hospitality when we have been there has been fantastic.

“We know South Africa, but I don’t know if that is an advantage or not. We don’t play the traditional style, we don’t know ourselves half the time what we are going to do, so I guess it might be an advantage, I am not sure.”