Our Manu Samoa 7’s have gone two from two on Day 1 of the Toulouse 7’s after defeating Ireland 27-14. The young side put in a huge second half performance to come from behind and beat Ireland in their second pool match of the HSBC Series being hosted by Toulouse in the South of France.
Ireland upset South Africa earlier in the day by 21-12 so they were not a team to be taken lightly. To make this victory even more meaningful to Samoa, it was Ireland that eliminated Samoa from Olympic considerations in 2021 during the Olympic 7’s repechage.
Paul Scanlan put in a well-placed kick and then earned a penalty on the chase that sent Ireland’s Terry Kennedy to the sin-bin for two minutes.
Steve Onosa’i Rimoni then opened the scorecard for Samoa with a goose-step that threw the Ireland defense, and then ran over the top of Jordan Conroy before putting in a huge reach to place the ball over the tryline. With the try unconverted, Samoa led 5-0.
Ireland got their sin binned player back and straight away took a 7-5 lead against Samoa. A bit of lazy defense from Samoa in the middle of the paddock, and within a flash, Jack Kelly crosses over for Ireland and the lead became 14-5 as the teams headed to the halftime break.
Samoa had some work to do in the second half to run down a 9-point deficit against a quality Irish side, and that’s exactly what the men in blue did.
Samoa held the ball for 90% of the second half, starving a frustrated Irish side of any possession.
With so much ball in hand Samoa lit up the Toulouse 7’s with three second half tries.
Steve Onosa’i Rimoni found himself scoring another try in the left corner of the field after a wide-wide play from Samoa that saw the ball swing back to Rimoni’s corner from the far right, after Uaina Sione put in the hard work in the forwards to gain and maintain possession.
Paul Scanlan was shifted from the sweeper position to the wing by Head Coach Muliagatele this tournament. A decision that is looking to be paying off as the player’s speed was well displayed in what was easily his best performance so far in the season.
Paul Scanlan was still elusive as a playmaker from his new position, but could now utilise his speed and managed to score a double of his own.
Samoa’s forwards were solid in the second half to keep possession and momentum, allowing the backs to cross the line.
The Manu 7s are showing maturity as a team being able to stay calm and come back from being down by 9 points at halftime.
Manu won every kick-off except for just one, which they quickly regained straight away through a counter ruck from Melani and Faafoi.
Samoa are currently leading Pool D with one more pool match remaining against South Africa.
Time of next match: Saturday 21 May – 11:22pm Samoan Time.
Special Message from “Samoa IBFC” – Manu Samoa 7’s Loyal Naming Rights Jersey Sponsors
Samoa International Business Finance Centre (“Samoa IBFC”) under the auspices of SIFA continues to be a strong advocate of community development and elite sporting teams that promote the “Samoa IBFC” logo globally.
Samoa IBFC is proud to be the Naming Rights Jersey Sponsor for the Manu Samoa 7s Team for 2022.
This historical partnership between SIFA and Lakapi Samoa aligns with the “Samoa IBFC” objective of promoting Samoa as a reputable jurisdiction for international financial services.
“This support has in the past seen the Manu Samoa 7s team reach the highest rank of the HSBC World Sevens Series as World Champions in 2010..
“For 2022, Samoa IBFC places its full support on the Manu Samoa 7s team as it enters the HSBC World Sevens Series once again after 2 years absence due to the global pandemic..
“The current Manu Samoa 7s team was selected from local 7s tournaments coordinated by local bodies and supported by Samoa IBFC such as the Marist Samoa International 7s, Iva 7s and other tournaments endorsed by Lakapi Samoa..
“Samoa IBFC believes in the development of Samoan talent from grassroots to professional level and evident in its sponsorship of all Sporting bodies in Samoa, namely Rugby, Rugby League, Netball Samoa, Tennis, Weightlifting, Golf, Taekwondo, Boxing, Touch Rugby, Game fishing and Samoan cricket..
“Samoa IBFC wishes the Manu Samoa 7s team all the best in the upcoming legs of the HSBC Sevens Series 2022”.
