“I was aware that when the role was officially advertised, it was only specifically for just the Oceania tournament” Matamua Upati Junior Salima.
Lakapi Samoa board have appointed Matamua Upati Junior Salima as the new Samoa Sevens coach to replace Muliagatele Brian Lima who was abruptly sacked after a disappointing Olympics and World series campaign.
However, it has come to light that Salima’s contract is only for the Oceania tournament, meaning it is only viable for two months.
This weekend, Manu Samoa sevens will battle it out in the Oceania Sevens tournament in Honiara Solomon Island as part of their rebuild after a shocking season this year.
An extension or any other further discussion regarding the contract is set to be made after the Oceania tournament.
Questions have been raised surrounding the appointment and contract of Matamua. But when speaking to online media platform ET Live, he assured that he was notified beforehand of everything when he applied for the role.
“I was aware that when the role was officially advertised, it was only specifically for just the Oceania tournament”
“When the tournament will conclude, then there will be further discussions on whether I will be extended or the role will be advertised yet again for someone else” Matamua said.
“I guess it is quite humorous in a way given that I can be a coach for only a few weeks” he laughed
“But I will do my best with whatever time I get to represent our country and team”
The appointment was made in November and the Oceania tournament kicks off this weekend.
Which means that Matamua only had four weeks to assemble a team, train them and prepare for Oceania.
“The tough thing about this is that I am picking a side together while rugby season is done here in Samoa. So basically I am scrambling to find players and get them ready in a short time”
But if there is anyone that is fit for spotting out local talent and grassroots development, it’s Matamua himself. His resume itself speaks volumes of what he is capable of
Having donned the role as a “Development Officer” for Lakapi Samoa for many years, Matamua is responsible for setting up his own development program in Savaii creating pathways for many rugby players.
Such pathways were crucial for these players as most of them had to leave their families in Savaii to travel to Upolu to at least get noticed by the national teams.
He has also set out a successful career in the local sevens scene with his rugby club Tamauli, who have set out to be one of Samoa’s top rugby clubs in today’s age dominating both locally and internationally.
Many locally bred talent have come through his coaching systems in Savaii with the likes of Uaina Sione, Elisapeta Alofipo, Vaovasa Su’a and many others.
Now equipped with a new challenge in the short tenure given for the coaching role for Samoa, he believes he can achieve the best he can with whatever he is given.
“There is no hiding of the fact that our rugby governing body are going through some financial struggles. There is some assistance given to us as a team, but it’s not enough to even pay for accommodation”
“Our squad had camped in a family home here in Salelologa Savaii for training, just so we could save on costs. The family had a massive coconut and papaya farm, and that was the food we would eat after our training sessions”
“Sometimes, you just have to go back to the basics, and start from the simple things in life that we all began from. That is the mentality that I am trying to instill into our team”
The Oceania tournament kicks off this weekend and Samoa have landed in Honiara ready for kick off.
In order to qualify through to the next step which is the World Challenger Series, Samoa will have to finish on top of the tournament, or be part of the top 2 non core squads.
