By Staff Writer
(l-r) SRL President Tagaloa Fa’afouina Su’a and Treasurer Tuilolo Klaus Jr. Stunzner
A heroes’ welcome worth $1.2m tala is being lined up by the Samoa Rugby League, SRL, for the long awaited official home visit by the Toa Samoa team, underway this week.
The players are arriving in two separate groups starting today with the second and last lot landing at Faleolo International Airport tomorrow, Wednesday 28 December 2022.
The players are joined by their wives and partners and will stay over the next coming days at the Return to Paradise Resort – Lefaga for the duration of their visit.
Four of the England based Toa Samoa players are unable to travel at the time of the year due to players contracts at home.
The main highlight of the welcome is the team parade on Thursday in Apia that starts with a Mass Service at the Mulivai Catholic Cathedral.
The players will be able to ‘meet and greet’ the home fans in front of the Government Building where booths are to be set up, to climax the events of the day.
There will be courtesy calls on Friday to the Head of State, Mapuifagalele Home of the Elderly, and the Carmelite Sisters.
Plans are yet to be finalised for the planned trip to Savai’i on Saturday because of the busy holiday travels between the islands.
“Most of the players have their family roots in Savai’i and it’s also a chance for the fans on the big island to meet with them, the same as those in Upolu,” SRL President Tagaloa Fa’afouina Su’a, told the local media today.
The players will finally have family time on Sunday for afternoon ‘toana’i’ and on Monday before they fly home from Samoa.
The storming, fairy tale run by the national side at the World Rugby League Cup last November in Great Britain went all the way to the finals.
The achievement was added to the list of rare historic sport moments for Samoa as the first second tier nation to reach the finals.
But the real story behind the Toa Samoa fame was how they came back from a 60-6 trouncing by England in pool competition to upset the tier one nation 27-26, where it counted the most in their semi-finals win.
They were unsuccessful against Australia, but it took nothing away from being made sporting legends for Samoa.
SRL President Tagaloa and his management have been door knocking at home and outside Samoa to fundraise through a radiothon to meet their costs.
They have so far collected $227 thousand tala from the $260 thousand tala from the radiothon pledges and are still going hard out to call for public support.
The Samoa International Business Finance Centre, IBFC, formerly known as SIFA, is donating half a million tala as the main sponsor of the Toa o Samoa.
“Part of that money is paying for airfares for the team and what is left over is helping meet some of the costs,” Tagaloa added.
The Toa Samoa home visit is the last official responsibility for Tagaloa and his SRL executive who has formally announced they are stepping down.
Tagaloa has been involved with the SRL in the last 13 years up to the Toa Samoa World Cup success.
“It is time for us to move on and let new people with new ideas and visions take over, we’ve done our best and it is a joy to step down at the height the Toa Samoa has taken rugby league in Samoa.”
He attributes the decision by the overseas players to turn down national selections at home in Australia and England where they are contracted, as a tribute to their families and their Samoan heritage.