The Samoa Rugby Union has announced its squad of 12 to compete in the third leg of the IRB Sevens World Series, the NZI Sevens in Wellington on 5-6 February.
Included in the outfit are two former captains, returning playmaker Uale Mai and forward enforcer Ofisa Treviranus, both of whom played for the Samoa Barbarians at the Suva Festival in Fiji last weekend.
The two experienced stars are the only Barbarian players named in the squad - Alatasi Tupou, Apelu Faaiuga and Jerry Meafou were all named as non-travelling reserves.
"The level of Sevens play at the Suva tournament was top class and it gave us honest assessments of where players such as Apelu, Alatasi and Jerry are at," said Barbarians coach Tausa Faamaoni, who returned to Samoa with the Shield.
"It also benefited our inexperienced players as now they know what type of pressure goes on at this level."
Another positive for Samoa's coaching staff was seeing at first hand the level and development of Sevens in Fiji.
"It's extremely competitive compared to home. Because of the higher quality the Fiji tournament gave similar intensity to the World Series and that means we were able to test players abilities and mental toughness under pressure. It was close to real as we could get," said Faamaoni, who is also assistant coach and Team Manager of the national Sevens side.
Samoa, coached by Stephen Betham, are currently ranked fourth in the race for the IRB Sevens World Series title, behind New Zealand, Fiji and England.
Following the eye-opening experience in Suva, Tausa has made a recommendation that more Samoan Sevens teams take the opportunity to play in Fijian tournaments on a regular basis.
Manu Samoa Sevens Squad for Wellington: Simaika Mikaele, Afa Aiono, Alafoti Fa'osiliva, Pale Toelupe, Ofisa Treviranus, Paul Chan Tung, Lolo Lui (C), Reupena Levasa, Mikaele Pesamino, Timoteo Iosua, Fautua Otto, Uale Ma'i.
Source: irb.com