Samoa captain Jack Lam has put country ahead of cash to be at the World Cup, saying yesterday that he turned down lucrative French offers because of strings attached that barred him from rugby’s global showpiece.
The money was appealing to support his family, but the clubs, which he did not identify, insisted he sever ties with Samoa, he said.
“It was a no-brainer,” said Lam, who was released by Bristol at the end of the last English Premiership season.
Photo: AFP
“There were a couple of contracts in France that I could have taken, but they had the condition that I had to turn down playing for Samoa in the World Cup and in the future as well,” he said on the eve of their final match in Japan against Ireland. “I just couldn’t do that to myself and the jersey and it just didn’t cross my mind.”
“It was a bit of a risk, especially for my family, but my missus and my family were all behind my decision,” he said.
With Pool A a three-way battle between Ireland, Japan and Scotland to fill the two qualifying berths, Samoa are to play for pride in their final match.
Photo: AFP
Assistant coach Al Rogers said the restrictive contracts offered to Pacific island players had been a “massive” problem when it came to assembling their World Cup squad.
“It’s been a challenge selecting this squad, but the great thing about it was that we knew we had a group that really wanted to be here, who sacrificed a lot to be here,” Rogers said. “And we could build a good foundation off that, which I think we had.”
AUSTRALIA-GEORGIA
Reuters, FUKUROI CITY, Japan
Australia scored an unconvincing 27-8 bonus-point victory over Georgia in their Pool D clash yesterday at the Shizuoka Stadium.
They dominated possession, territory and the set piece, but ran into an impressive defense from Georgia, who made 201 tackles, and were only able to pull away in the final quarter.
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