Samoa destroyed Namibia midweek to get their World Cup campaign off to a winning start. The rampaging Samoans will just have four days to recover before taking on Warren Gatland’s men in Hamilton.
Key player Kane Thompson says Samoa aren’t complaining that Wales have had a week to re-group after their defeat to South Africa – the South Sea Islanders are just focussing on their own game.
“If we let things like that affect us we won’t be focusing on the task at hand,” he said. “It’s a huge game for us, but it’s like every game in this World Cup.
“Every game is a quarter-final for us. We know, if we’re going to progress in this tournament, we have to win pretty much every game. We’re excited. We’ll play our usual style. Most teams around the world know how we play now. We’re pretty physical.”
Former Scarlets hooker and Samoan captain, Mahonri Schwalger, refused to be drawn into the debate surrounding the second tier nations receiving a raw deal when it comes to game turnaround time.
“It’s pretty harsh, but it’s the nature of the tournament. It’s about which team can recover quickest and front-up,” he said. “We’ve got a pretty good squad, and you’ve got to be smart how you use it.”
