The Samoa rugby sevens teams are continuing to prepare as if the Tokyo Olympics will go ahead in six months time.
The World Sevens Series is on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic, while the Samoa men's and women's teams are both scheduled to contest the Final Olympic Qualification Tournament in Monaco in June.
Melani Matavao cuts through the Japan defence during the last World Series tournament in March. Photo: Mike Lee - KLC fotos for World Rugby
The Samoa Rugby Union's General Manager of High Performance, Seumanu Douglas Ngau Chun, said the Manu Samoa and Manu Sina 7s squads continued to work hard throughout Christmas and New Year.
"We only gave a couple of days off and then we were back on the fourth of January for both programmes," he said.
"It's exciting times now for us as we announced both our women's and our men's teams, we cut down the squads and now we're focused on our preparations for any tournaments ahead which we are planning as if things are normal."
Final Day of our National 7 Trials at Apia Park pic.twitter.com/TGmmRgXERz
— @ManuSamoaSevens (@manusamoa7s) January 21, 2021
The 2020 Oceania Sevens Championships were cancelled but Seumanu said Samoa is continuing to hold local tournaments to ensure their players remain fit and ready.
"At the moment, with the uncertainty that we are facing, we are still preparing as if things are going well. We've had two weeks of national sevens trials, which we opened up to the public and we've run it as a normal tournament using the World Rugby format," he said.
"We have this ample time to prepare and fully assess the strengths and the weaknesses of both our teams, so the coaches are really working hard in making sure whenever there's a tournament coming Samoa will be ready."
Samoa Rugby Union General Manager of High Performance, Seumanu Douglas Ngau Chun. Photo: Supplied
The Samoa Rugby Union has not been immune to the financial implications of the pandemic, however.
Up to 24 sevens players were contracted in each of the past three World Series campaigns but Seumanu said that was no longer viable, although players in the national training squads are receiving allowances.
"We've removed the contract that we've used to sign with our players due to the uncertainty," he explained.
"No tournament appearance for us means no money as well in terms of sponsorship, because that's the challenge we're facing as a union - our sponsors are pulling out."
Recovery at Piula Cave Pool pic.twitter.com/9L3g53HQ6E
— @ManuSamoaSevens (@manusamoa7s) January 27, 2021
Men's coach Muliagatele Brian Lima this week named 13 news caps in a 24 man training squad, while women's coach Auimatagi Sapani Pomare has selected 18 players to continue preparations towards the Monaco qualifiers.
Seumanu said the Union speaks with World Rugby on a weekly basis but for now the focus remains on competing in local sevens competition, including the annual Marist Sevens competition next month.
