SAMOA coach Ben Gardiner has dismissed suggestions his side is under pressure to repeat their World Cup final appearance of four years ago.
Samoa has lost eight of its incumbent 17, with prop Payne Haas opting for hand surgery and prop Terrell May making himself unavailable, for the tournament which kicks off in five days.
“This is the first I’ve heard of the pressure conversation – but it’s fair that you bring it up,” Gardiner told reporters, after initally responding that every team and every individual was under pressure to some degree.
“I don’t think they think about it.
“The respect that they have to put that blue jersey on and go and represent their family, their heritage and their people – I think that’s what’s at the forefront of their minds rather than worrying about the outcomes of the games.”
Discussing Newcastle’s Francis Manuleleua choosing Samoa despite being in New Zealand’s preliminary squad, Gardiner said: “We’ve put a lot of work into that.
“I went and met with Francis in Newcastle when he first came into first grade.
“I’ve known Francis for a long time through my links at Penrith and I know he’s a player that’s got a huge skill set – probably more than we’ve seen in the NRL so far.”
There was some doubt over Junior Paulo with a knee injury but Gardiner said: “Junior’s really keen to play. There hasn’t been any talk of the knee.
“Junior’s our most capped player. He’a a super proud Samoan and the opportunity to play for his nation is, I think, a very important one for him.
