By Tupuola Terry Tavita

It has been a November to remember for Samoan rugby.

On the back of a watershed tour of Europe, the sevens team has finally captured the elusive Dubai crown blitzing the fancied All Blacks in emphatic fashion.

For the Manu Samoa, their achievements this time around are timely as they come on the eve of the official 2015 World Cup pool seeding.

Manu Samoa has moved from a 10^th placing before the tour to 7^th, our best ever ranking, giving the team a second band World Cup pick. And as the pools were announced this morning it appears that we will again be facing the Springboks in a fourth world cup outing. No doubt many would have preferred a clash with the mighty All Blacks.

But have never beaten the Springboks, and all indications from this tour points to a very strong Manu Samoa squad come 2015. Perhaps the strongest team we will ever field in any world cup.

And it will be owed to the success of this November tour and the subsequent Dubai triumph.

The tour has not only enahnced Manu Samoa as a very marketable brand but more importantly, our players are now hotly pursued by the cashed-up professional clubs in Europe.

According to team manager Leota Sami Lemalu, club agents were virtually beating a path to the team’s doorstep.

“Our hotel lobby was always full of club reps and agents offering contracts to our new players,�? said Leota.

This is sweet music to government as the small fortune we have invested in rugby development over the years is now finally paying off. Government’s sports policy has always been to develop local talent and secure professional contracts for our budding athletes. Our biggest natural resource, of course, is our people.

The big bucks the players will earn in Europe will filter back to their families and the communities in Samoa.

The success in Dubai with a largely new squad indicates that our local players are more than ready to immediately step right up to that level. We are finally cultivating a winning sevens culture.

The experience we have had with sevens players such as Alafoti Fa’osiliva, Ofisa Treviranus, Maurie Fa’asavalu, David Lemi, Paul Perez, Fa’atoina Autagavaia and others is that they can seamlessly make the transition to the 15s game. Either as backrowers or backline players.

No doubt weekend champs Lio Lolo, Asi-Fa’amatala and Tulolo Tulolo if they maintain their good form will be ready to make the move up the professional 15s ranks after this IRB sevens series.

And that fluidity should be encouraged. Not only does it provide a bigger talent pool for our Manu Samoa but avoids a bottleneck of young rugby talent at home. In short, play sevens, win, get a contract and play pro rugby in Europe, Japan or Australasia. Make yourself available for Manu Samoa.

That’s our pathway to professional rugby and creating a champion Manu Samoa team.

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