Theo McFarland, the Samoa captain, says his side have no excuses and are focused on taking their final shot at qualification for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Despite the fact the World Cup is expanding to 25 teams for its next edition, one of the sides who have given the competition some of its greatest moments are in danger of missing out.
Samoa are joined in a four-team qualifying tournament in Dubai this month by Belgium, Namibia and Brazil, with only the winners making it to Australia for the main event.
The fact Samoa are here is a mixed blessing. It is a treat for the local rugby community to have players who ply their trade in some of the top leagues in the world playing XVs rugby playing on Pitch 2 at The Sevens, Dubai.
But the fact a side of Samoa’s heritage could yet be absent from the sport’s main stage might also be a concern for many.
Samoa have played at the last nine World Cups, stretching back to 1991, when they stunned Wales on their way to reaching the quarter-final stage.
Having missed out on automatically making it to 2027 because of their finishing position at the previous World Cup in France, they have struggled through a convoluted qualification process.
Losses against Tonga and Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup, and then a play-off against the United States, put them into another play-off against Chile.
Over the course of two legs, Chile stunned them to earn qualification, and sent the Samoans to the final repechage tournament in Dubai.
“I could sit here and say all the excuses, but we are here and what is important is what happens next; that is getting ourselves to qualify for the World Cup,” McFarland said.
“We have got a last opportunity. We got in on Saturday last week and it is good to be back. It is good to see the boys. The mood has been positive.”
Samoa's leading players are based all over the world. As such, they are dependent on them being released by their clubs to play, if fixtures fall outside the official international windows.
The squad they have assembled in the UAE includes players with Super Rugby experience, one who plays with Irish giants Leinster, while McFarland himself plays for multiple-European Cup winning side Saracens.
They also have two players who represented Tier 1 nations in the past before completing a mandatory cooling off period and changing allegiance to their birth country instead. They are Scott Sio, who formerly played for Australia, and Jacob Umaga, who once played for England.
“In the past couple of campaigns, player availability hurt us the most,” McFarland said. “We didn’t have all our core players, who are scattered around the world.
“Most of them couldn’t make it to the last campaign because of club regulations. Credit the boys that stepped in at the time, they gave it their all. They play with passion and heart for Samoa.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result in the PNC for us to qualify, but we are here now. We all know this is our last chance, and it is massive for us to qualify. We are really looking forward to it.”
Although Samoa’s starry XVs side are new to playing in Dubai, the country does actually have a deep affinity with the emirate.
Their sevens compatriots have been past winners of the Dubai Sevens. They also came close to winning the Rugby World Cup Sevens in 2009, the event for which The Sevens Stadium was initially built.
Also, Apollo Perelini is the long serving performance manager of UAE rugby. His development side, UAE Shaheen, provided the opposition for Samoa in a training game as part of their preparation for the qualifier.
Perelini was one of the stars of the Western Samoa side who shocked Wales in the 1991 World Cup, and announced the island nation as a force in the sport.
One of Perelini’s teammates from that side, Brian Lima, deserves some credit for McFarland having a career in the game.
The Samoa captain had aspired to a pro career in basketball. Once that appeared to be slipping away from him, he was set to give up sport, only for a chance meeting with Lima.
“I was always playing rugby on the side, but my main focus was basketball,” McFarland said.
“I didn’t get anywhere, so I was ready to quit all sports in general. Funnily enough, Brian Lima was at one of my basketball games.
“He got on the bus. He got me off the bus, asked me to come back to rugby and join his team, so I did.
“He is a legend, one of the greatest players for Samoa. I was a bit starstruck. I was actually confused when he got on the bus and pointed at me.
"I am grateful it happened, and that he approached me to come back to rugby. Because of it, I am where I am now, playing in the Premiership in England.”
