Uale Mai may well be on the verge of creating IRB Sevens World Series history in Hong Kong this weekend, but the Samoa scrum half insists that there will no room for sentiment when he leads his countrymen into action on Friday night.
The playmaker, who was the IRB’s Sevens Player of the Year in 2006, will win his 51st Sevens World Series cap this weekend, eclipsing the record currently held by New Zealander Amasio Valance Raoma.
However, with a title defence and valuable series points at stake, Mai says that the focus has to be on what happens on the pitch.
“Hong Kong is a big tournament and a big prize to win. It is something that we are aiming for and to win would of course mean more important IRB Sevens World Series points.”
Samoa lifted the title in Hong Kong last year, defeating Pacific Island rivals Fiji 27-22 in what was a gripping final. It was a victory that not only underlined the depth of talent within the Samoan Sevens squad, but also reaffirmed the islanders as genuine overall series contenders.
Newlook Samoa squad
While defending the Hong Kong title will be a tough prospect as a number of players who were in that winning side 12 months ago have now moved on to pastures new, Mai believes that everything is in place for the Samoa team to mount a strong challenge again this year.
“We have eight new players in the team, but we are confident that we can defend our title here in Hong Kong. We are confident because we trust and believe in each other,” he said.
This weekend’s tournament will mark a captaincy hat trick in Hong Kong for Mai and he believes that the honour of leading Samoa outweighs his own personal achievements, at least until the dust has settled on what promises to be another scintillating Hong Kong Sevens.
“It is my third time that I have been sevens captain in Hong Kong and it is always special to lead your team. It is an honour to be breaking the record for appearances in the IRB Sevens World Series, but this weekend is about the team.”
Samoa kick off their title defence against Sri Lanka on Friday - a first day's play featuring 12 matches, the pick of which looks to be Tonga versus France.
Stay with irbsevens.com for all the latest results, statistics, news and views on all three days of the Cathay Pacific Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens.
