Samoa
Samoan PM rules out compromise with players
ESPN Staff
December 1, 2014
Samoa threatened to boycott their game against England © Getty Images
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Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, someone who is both the chairman of the Samoa Rugby Union and the country's prime minister, says he will not bow to the Samoan players' demands in the wake of their difficult November series.

The players expressed their misgivings over the union's management of the team and have reportedly called for two officials to be sacked. While the players have refrained from saying who they want removed, the Samoan PM Tuilaepa has named them as SRU board member and MP Lefau Harry Schuster and SRU official Tuala Mathew Vaea.

Tuilaepa says the players should stay focused on on the field matters and not that of management while giving his backing to both under-fire individuals. He told the Samoa Observer: "Harry is a lawyer. He sits on the IRB [World Rugby] and uses his knowledge as a Judge to argue matters that concern us.

"Mathew before he was conferred the title Tuala was a coach in Italy. He is also a former player for Manu Samoa. They have high rankings that many don't understand."

On the players' calls for action, he said: "It is not for them to decide. Their duty is to play and win. If they win, win, win, it makes it a lot easier for us to find sponsors to help us."

Tuilaepa also questioned the amount of money they received from the Rugby Football Union for their November 22 game against England. He said the SRU was given a "lousy $50,000 compared to $1million that was given to the All Blacks."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

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