Mahonri Schwalger highlights reasons behind Samoa debacle during Rugby World Cup
The skipper for the Samoan Rugby Union team, Mahonri Schwalger, has written a letter to Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, on October 25, to communicate to him the factors that led the team out of 2011 Rugby World Cup in the initial stages.
Samoa was considered to be the dark horse during the event but surprisingly they fell short of the expectations. In his letter to the chief executive of country, published in a local daily, Samoan Observer, captain declared top management responsible for
the early exit of Samoa from the global show.
Samoa went into Rugby World Cup with aspiring hopes as they had thumped world number two Wallabies in an impressive way a few weeks back. Again, they routed the meagre side of Namibia in their first match of world showpiece by a large difference of 49-12
on September 14.
Later on, things turned adverse the for pacific nation and they could not make further good impression in the remaining matches. They won just one more pool match in the tournament against Fiji and lost two others to Wales and defending champs Springboks
and ultimately made their way back home.
The skipper finally broke the ice after a long silence and highlighted the entities that played a destructive role to dismantle their side. Schwalger revealed that the top management including, vice chairman Lefau Harry Schuster, chief executive officer
of the union Su'a Peter Schuster, and team manager played havoc with the preparations of the team while ignoring their responsibilities.
The skipper claimed that, “Harry was a totally different person I expected him to be. The whole camp, he was there to enjoy himself with his mates etc. Su'a turned up to the World Cup treating it like a holiday. Drinking and bringing his friends to the team
hotel bar.”
The skipper further said that, “I feel that he did not want to be there at most times as he would disappear from the team for 2 to 3 days during all the weeks. He would also go out drinking every single day during the World Cup. He acted like he is the owner
of the team and not the manager.”
Schwalger has suggested the PM to make grass root changes to save the Samoan Rugby Union from further turmoil.
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