• • Facebook
  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us
  • Technorati
  • Reddit
  • Stumble Upon
  • Furl

The Dubai Sevens this weekend sees the dawn of a new era for Samoa who are pooled with Zimbabwe, Scotland and Fiji in Pool B.

The new head coach Stephen Betham has had to deal with the ‘official’ retirement of Samoa’s leading all-time IRB Series point scorer, Uale Mai, ahead of Dubai and the unavailability of stalwart Ofisa Treviranus, but he still believes Samoa can improve on the seventh overall position they achieved last season.

In fact the last time Samoa were in Dubai, the Paicific Islanders reached a semi-final at the Rugby World Cup Sevens – a sudden death extra-time victory over England in the quarter-finals providing one of the highlights with former coach Rudi Moors performing cart-wheels when Simaika Mikaele scored the winner.

Betham, however, is only looking forward – suggesting that they are now building towards the 2016 Olympic Games.

“We are currently trying to rebuild for the Olympics. We have new faces and it is a different feeling, we have young new players rebuilding for the future,” said Betham.

Despite losing several players, including Mai, Lolo Lui remains. Lui represented the 15-a-side team against Wales alongside Mai in November, but he returns to take over the armband.

With an impressive Tahiti Nieu Sevens victory for some of the youngsters without Lui including the speedster Reupena Levasa and a belief that the issues surrounding the Sevens and 15-a-side teams have finally been addressed, Betham could see vast improvements by the time Rio comes round.

“We are trying to head into a new era, trying to separate the 15s from the Sevens, so we don’t get into this debacle which we usually have of losing players. But I think the aim is to look at the Olympics now and head towards then,” added Betham.

“We have the full support of our full team coach (Dickie Tafua). He has obviously been here before and done this so he knows what needs to be done at this end too.”

Samoa will play RWC Sevens Bowl and Plate winners, Zimbabwe and Scotland, before an all-South Sea Island clash with Fiji completes their Day One pool matches.

Samoa squad: Simaika Mikaele, Afa Aiono, Alafoti Fa'osiliva, Jerry Meafou, Pale Toelupe, Paul Chan Tung, Lolo Lui, Reupena Levasa, Mikaele Pesamino, Timoteo Iosua, Fautua Otto, Taupo Sefo