By Josh Barrowcliff, Date; 16/11/13
Samoa head coach Matt Parish has named his 19 man squad to play Fiji at Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday (15:00).
Samoa utility Pita Godinet is eyeing further improvement from his team when they lock horns with Fiji in their Rugby League World Cup 2013 Quarter-Final clash at The Halliwell Jones Stadium at Warrington on Sunday (3.00pm).
The Bati confirmed their Quarter-Final opponents with a bullish 22-6 win over France on Monday night, but the New Zealand Warriors player knows they will need to be even better heading into the knockout stages of the competition.
“I think that throughout the tournament we have improved a lot as a team,” said Godinet. “We had a tough opening game against New Zealand but we fought hard and came away from that match with a lot of confidence.
“That self-belief served us well against Papua New Guinea and France but we know that there is still room for improvement, which we are aiming to keep doing.
“Fiji are a very, very talented team, they have good players available and will be a difficult obstacle.
“Probably their main threat is Petero Civoniceva. He is a fantastic leader and gets them playing by making a lot of plays and completing sets. We will have to knuckle down twice as hard to stop him but our back line is very good and more than capable of seeing us through.”
The 25-year-old, who has played in every one of Samoa’s matches so far, is certain that his side will be ready and raring to go ahead of the all-South Pacific clash.
“We had a very short turn around this week because it was not confirmed who our opponents were until after the game on Monday, but hard work is going in to make sure that we recover as well.
“There were a lot of battered and bruised bodies after the France match, so our priority is to be in the best physical condition ahead of Saturday.
“It is an absolute dream come true to represent my country at the World Cup here. To make the Quarter-Finals is fantastic but we want to go even further.
“There are some extremely tough teams still in the tournament, but we want to go as far as we possibly can. The good thing for us is that we have put our destiny into our own hands and we can ask for nothing more.
“The support we have received from the crowds, especially in Warrington, has been overwhelming. I know that our families have been getting up early to watch our matches and they are very proud of what we have achieved so far.
“I think our success is down to how close we are as a group, we spend a lot of time together and the bond we have developed is very important for our hopes and dreams.”
Tickets are still available for the Samoa v Fiji RLWC2013 quarter-final at The Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington, on Sunday (3.00pm) and are priced from as little as £10 for adults and £5 for concessions. To purchase your tickets, please either visit www.eticketing.co.uk/rlwc/ or call our 24-hour Ticket Hotline on 08448472013.
Samoa team to take on Fiji
David Fa’alogo
Pita Godinet
Faleniu Iosi
Tim Lafai
Joseph Leilua
Penani Manumalelii
Mose Masoe
Suaia Matagi
Anthony Milford
Junior Moors
Tony Puletua
Ben Roberts
Junior Sa’u
Michael Sio
Iosia Soliola
Sauaso Sue
Mark Taufua
Daniel Vidot
Antonio Winterstein
