PAUL REESreports that Samoa face Wales in the Millennium Stadium more determined to put up a good show after the tsunami in September.

SAMOA WILL play their first international on Friday since a tsunami hit the South Pacific island at the end of September, wiping out entire villages and killing 123 people. The team are used to lacking the preparation of the major playing nations but the disaster has given it an added dimension with their head coach, Fuimaono Tafua, among the homeless and unable to join his players in Wales until Monday night because he was making arrangements for his family.

“There is complete devastation on the island,” said the forwards coach, Peter Fatialofa, who captained Samoa when they defeated Wales in Cardiff in the 1991 World Cup.

“People are still sleeping under coconut trees and in tents and their suffering is a big motivation for us on this tour. I was in New Zealand when the earthquake struck 10 minutes before the tsunami and I was on the phone talking to a friend when it happened. Those in my village were fortunate because they had a hill to run up but the coach’s village was surrounded by flat land and many lives were lost.

“I flew to Samoa the following day after learning two of my extended family had died and it is hard to describe what I saw: you had to be there to appreciate the havoc that had been wrought. New Zealand and Australia offered help immediately and we are very grateful to the Welsh Rugby Union, which has launched a number of fundraising initiatives this week. A lot of aid has come in and building programmes have been started, but it will take a while to get the infrastructure back to where it was. It is an emotional time for all of us but we are determined to do well.”

The Samoa captain, George Stowers, was with London Irish, along with his compatriots Sailosi Tagicakibau and Seilala Mapusua, when the tsunami struck.

“I could not get hold of my mother for three days and it was very worrying,” he said.

“It was a huge relief when I managed to get through to her and you felt helpless being so far away from home. I wanted to go back because it was so bad there. The supporters at London Irish were really helpful and donations poured in. It was a very sad occasion and it is going to be an emotional tour for us.”

It will begin at the Millennium Stadium with only Samoa’s second international against a top-level Test nation since the 2007 World Cup. They were part of the Pacific Islanders who played England, Scotland and France last year, but they have pulled out of that organisation because they felt it was devaluing the islands as individual entities and was not the best way to prepare for a World Cup.

“We need more exposure against the top sides,” Fatialofa said.

“They do not come to Samoa any more. The All Blacks never have and we want to get away from everyone only talking about Samoa, Fiji and Tonga when a World Cup is being held. It is very difficult for us: we have had less than a week to prepare for the Wales match, but we have waited a long time for the chance to match ourselves against the big boys and we are not going to waste it.”

Samoa defeated Wales three times in the 1990s, twice in Cardiff, but the two countries have met each other only once this decade, back in 2000 when Wales defeated a depleted side 50-6. Since then Samoa have had only 10 fixtures against tier-one nations, an average of little more than one a year, and just one, against Ireland in 2003, has been held in Apia.

The Samoan players who assembled in Cardiff over the weekend arrived from six different countries.

Only seven of the 27-strong squad are based in Samoa, with 10 playing in England, five earning their livings in France, three in New Zealand, one in Scotland and another in Australia.

“We arrived at different times and we do not have much time to prepare, but there is an uplifting mood in the camp,” Gavin Williams, the centre who is a son of the former New Zealand wing Bryan Williams, said.

The Clermont Auvergne player went on: “We are well used to it now and we are just looking forward to taking on Wales. They are a top side who pushed New Zealand all the way last weekend and it is a fixture to relish. The tsunami is a huge source of motivation for us because our country is hurting and we have the chance, if only for a while, to relieve the pain.”