England v Samoa
Samoa team manager rules out strike action
ESPN Staff
November 17, 2014

Samoa team manager Sami Leoti has ruled out any possibility of strike action for Saturday's autumn international against England at Twickenham.

Whether the game would go ahead had been in doubt for much of the last week after players expressed concerns over the administration of the Samoan Rugby Union (SRU).

"The game is proceeding as agreed upon. There is no threat and the boycott has been cancelled. It's all been sorted," Leoti told PA Sport.

"The players handed the matter on to the IRB and players' association three weeks ago before we got to Italy and they've been handling it since.

"It was leaked to the media when we were in France last week. The players met with the IRB and the players association and as a result of those discussions the boycott was called off. Now the idea is to keep the camp tight and focus on the game."

Samoan players wrote to the International Rugby Board in October threatening to strike on the date of the England match unless their concerns about the SRU were acted upon. Last week Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi (who is also Chairman of the SRU) took to his weekly national radio programme to blast the players, who he described as "little brats" and being guilty of "foolish thinking."

So far this month Samoa have lost to Italy and beaten Canada.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices