Bullrush
John Hipwell (52)
I was one who understood what Eliota was trying to do with some of his over the top statements this RWC.
He may need to start directing his energies a little closer to home. This is disgusting.
He may need to start directing his energies a little closer to home. This is disgusting.
TRUTH IN MANU’S DEMISE
by Aigaletaule’ale’a F. Tauafiafi
SUNDAY SAMOAN, 23 October 2011
A report to the Prime Minister by Manu Samoa captain, Mahonri Schwalger, reveals the truth behind the demise of the team’s RWC campaign. Obtained by the Sunday Samoan, the report details a culture of alcohol abuse, mismanagement and dishonesty. It talks about senior officials treating the tournament as a ‘massive holiday’. Schwalger’s criticism singled out Vice Chairman Lefau Harry Schuster, CEO Su’a Peter Schuster, team manager Tuala Mathew Vaea and Assistant Manager Ryan Schuster.
“Harry was a totally different person I expected him to be.” says the report. The whole camp, he was there to enjoy himself with his mates, etc.
CEO Su’a is accused of disrupting the team by constantly drinking and bringing friends to the team hotel. “Su’a turned up to the World Cup treating it like a holiday. As mentioned, Su’a bringing his friends, board members to the hotel to continually drink –we found this a big distraction for the players while they are trying to prepare for every game.”
“We heard that board members were staying in 5-star hotels in the city, hopefully not on the Union’s expense, and hopefully this is not coming from the supporters’ hard-earned money given to support our team.”
Manager Tuala was “definitely out for himself.” Schwalger reports.
“I feel that he did not want to be there at most times as he would disappear from the team for 2 to 3 days during all the week. He would also go out drinking every single day during the World Cup. He acted like he is the owner of the team and not the manager.
Assistant Manager Ryan Schuster wasn’t much help. He is accused of giving players minimal gear.
“This was a big let-down as we were scrambling for gears whilst they had loads full of boxes in their rooms; when the players asked for more they refused to let the players have it as they said it all had to go back to Samoa (Su’a and Harry’s orders).”
Contacted for a comment yesterday, Su’a said to refer questions to Prime Minister Tuilaepa.
Lefau is in New Zealand, while Tuala could not be contacted for a comment, Ryan Schuster rejected the allegations saying he merely followed orders from the SRU. He declined to comment further.
Tuilaepa on the other hand has left to attend the Commmonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth Australia. But a source told the Sunday Samoan that Prime Minister Tuilaepa would call a special meeting of the SRU Board to discuss Schwalger’s report.
“The Prime Minister, after reading the report, is very upset with the management group of Manu’s World Cup campaign,” revealed the source.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Samoan in Auckland, Captain Schwalger says his report outlines abuse and actions by management that affected the team’s preparations.
Mahonri says the Manu Samoa is the people’s team and they deserve to know where their donations went. Secondly, for Manu Samoa to make it to the top in world rugby, the current people managing the game must go. “First and foremost, the Manu is the people’s team so they deserve to know the truth about the performance of those who run our game and where their donations actually went. Because if the money is being abused, it means the love of our people is being exploited – and that hurts.”
“For me personally, I take my hat off to Tuilaepa because he’s the one who fronted the fundraising efforts and it’s through him that many, like Jack Chen, gave money to the Manu.
“So like many others who gave their time freely like Tuilaepa, having their efforts and money abused and wasted is like a kick in the face.”
Making this stand against SRU management will have repercussions.
“I’ve been threatened for the past five years that I won’t be picked in the Manu if I speak out, but that never bothered me. I’ve talked to people inside the Union about this issue for the past three years and nothing’s done so this is the next step because the future of our game is at stake.”
He believes, “to make the needed changes, it’s really up to the people of Samoa to make it happen. We need our people now to demand change because these things have been going on for the past twenty years. We must stop it now.”
His voice is not alone.
A group of former Manu Samoa players, To’o Vaega, Danny Kaleopa, Lama Tone, Lio Falaniko, Malua Tipi, and others have added their support to Mahonri’s report.
To’o Vaega says the problems are not new.
“It happened in our time and I’m not surprised it’s still going on because it’s still the same people there,” says Vaega. “So we have to be honest and tell the truth. I tried when I was in the Manu but I was a lone voice that faded through lack of support.
“With Mahonri as captain speaking out, I can see this time that change will happen. The ‘boys club’ running Samoan rugby at the moment must be disbanded. In 1991, they were playing with thousands of dollars. Now, they’re playing with millions. It must be stopped.”
Schwalger and former Manu Samoa players are standing together for the simple reason they love the Manu and that Samoa should gain broader benefits from its rich rugby resource.
“In the future, Samoan players will soon be signing million dollar contracts – that’s how good we are. But how can we get there, if there are people inside the SRU who are pulling it down?
“They’re not only serving their self-interest but they’re destroying our rugby by turning future generations away from wanting to represent the Manu because of them. Look at Manu Tuilagi, why is he playing for England and not Samoa? I don’t blame the family.”
In his World Cup report, Schwalger tells the PM Tuilaepa, “I promise you, if this part is sorted out by getting the right people to do the job, Samoa will be unstoppable.”
The report, however, does not detail everything. One is a claim that many of the players threatened to walk out of the World Cup because of the attitude and behaviour of the team managers.
Says Schwalger, “The only reason those players stayed was because I took them back to the time we were in Samoa. We talked abou the young school students who donated their lunch money for the team. About our people who would rather give to the Manu and go without food on the table. About the special bond the Manu has with our people. It was our responsibility as players to stay true and play our guts out for our people.
“That was the only reason the players stayed – it was for our people, not only in Samoa, but all over the world.”
What compounded the hurt and anger against management are the donations from the many fundraising events that the team never saw or told where the money went.
In New Zealand, “I got paid an allowance of NZD $1,000 a week. Which is the rate paid since 1991. So for four weeks in New Zealand, I earned NZD $4,000. That’s it. And that’s the same for all us players.
“We also note that for European-based players to come here, they pay their own fare and that’s roughly NZD $4,000 return. So we’re actually representing Samoa for free. But that’s alright. We’re not complaining or seeking compensation.” He says, “What we want is that the Manu is run fairly and should not be treated by individuals as their own company or family business or to have a holiday. That’s why I want our people to know because they’re probably happily thinking that we got their donations.”
From discussions with Fijian captain Deacon Manu and coach Domoni, Schwalger found what their World Cup squad members were paid. “All individual members of the Fijian squad received FJ$30,000 each before they left for NZ. Then on top of that they got paid $1,500 per week during the World Cup. When they asked me how much we were getting I was too embarrassed to tell them. I just said they got more than us.” He also uncovered that “Tongan players each received $10,000 pa’anga and then $1,500 per week at the World Cup. But we were playing at a different level to them.”
Schwalger says he is not speaking out now because of the money.
“It’s about sorting this out so our future generations will be taken better care of if they play for the Manu. And that the people’s donations are not exploited.”
A broad picture of the fundraising issue and expenditure:
Before the Manu Samoa pre-World Cup camp in Apia, the Samoa Observer unveiled some of the expense areas for the $6.5 million fundraising effort. The expense list included: Western Force series SAT $596,000, Pacific Nations Cup SAT $400,000; once in New Zealand, the team’s support expenses such as physiotherapy supplies, medical costs, excess baggage, contingency SAT $90,000; insurance cover SAT $581,000; player allowances SAT $808,200; and a $498,500 allocation to bonuses. There would have been other expenses such as specialists and coaches salaries, management allowances and so forth.
The fundraising efforts we know of include: Government SAT $850,000; Corporate lunch SAT $575,000; Jack Chen NZD $250,000; Radiothon (est) SAT $700,000. Other events held include the Farewell dinner, Australian and US fundraising; electronic donations via website.
Extra in New Zealand, To’alepai Lui, coordinator of NZ’s Manu Supporters Club announced a combined fundraising effort of $107,000. That was increased by further $20,000 donation from the Wellington Samoan community after the Springbok match (this was given directly to players). Then there were other donations from John Campbell of NZD $10,000, Digicel and OPRO for the mouthguard fine.
On top of these are contributions from sponsors such as SIFA, Mizuno and KooGa.
The other layer of assistance is the IRB’s commitment to Manu Samoa at the World Cup. For being one of the twenty teams in the World Cup, the IRBG pays SRU £150,000 in three instalments; £80,000 on signing to play (15 January 2010), £20,000 on 15 July 2011, and £50,000 on 31 January 2012. In New Zealand, as per participation agreement, the IRB paid for: Return flights to NZ back to Samoa, all accommodation stay, food, drinks, freight, transport (bus coach and three support vehicles), laundry, ice and insurance.
This gives a picture of expense for which the fundraising effort was aimed for.
Although unconfirmed, Schwalger says he heard that an independent audit for the Manu’s World Cup campaign has been commissioned. The report to PM Tuilaepa will be tabled in a special SRU Board meeting.
Schwalger’s report in full reads:
HARRY SCHUSTER
Harry was a totally different person [than what] I expected him to be. The whole camp, he was there to enjoy himself with his mates, etc. When we were in Samoa, he tried to cut down the allowance from NZD $1,000 to SAT $500 per week and the boys were shocked as this was brought upon them without an explanation. The boys went and approached Su’a about it and he said to ask Harry but Harry said for us to accept whatever we are given.
SU’A SCHUSTER
Su’a turned up to the World Cup treating it like a holiday. Drinking and bringing his friends to the team hotel bar. Sua’s drinking and golf partner is Matt and that’s why Matt is hardly around the team the whole week. When we have problems with a lot of things in the team eg. gears, training stuff, etc, Matt always blames Su’a and Su’a blames Harry.
As mentioned, Su’a bringing his friends, board members to the hotel to continually drink – we found this a big distraction for the players while they are trying to prepare for every game. We heard that board members were staying in 5-star hotels in the city, hopefully not at the Union’s expense and hopefully this is not coming from the supporters’ hard-earned money given to support our team.
Team photos were also a problem. We have been asking, waiting and asking but don’t know who to go to. Su’a as the CEO should step in as all the boys are waiting for their copies.
MATTHEW VAEA
Matthew is definitely out for himself. I feel that he did not want to be there at most times and he would disappear from the team for 2 to 3 days during all the weeks. He would also go out drinking every single day during the World Cup. He acted like he is the owner of the team and not the manager. The night before our last game against South Africa, he was not even at the hotel with the team so Fui had to arrange for the presentation of the jersey. We, as a team, feel that our preparation was tainted by not having people in vital positions committed to their duties and responsibilities before every game. Come after the last game, Matt and Ryan were nowhere to be found. The boys found out later that they were drinking and partying elsewhere. One would think that this is the last game, a bit of support from him and Ryan would have gone down well with the players. This the reason the players were not in the loop regarding going to Samoa to thank our people for all the support. Matthew turned up on Monday and told the players that there is no need to go to Samoa because we did not make the quarterfinals, saying this was Sua’s call. Su’a was blaming Harry and Matt was blaming Su’a.
Our gears were also short. The players were given minimal issues. Considering this is the World Cup, we would have expected way more than this but Matt was giving out gears to his friends and families. This was a big let-down as we were scrambling for gear whilst they had load full of boxes in their rooms; when the players asked for more, they refused to let the players have it as they said it all had to go back to Samoa (Su’a and Harry’s orders).
Matthew spent most of his time drinking with his 1991 Reunion mates; definitely treating the World Cup like a holiday and not as what a manager should be. He is hardly at the hotel organizing and scheduling our programmes for the week, like what a normal team manager would do. All the players DO NOT respect him and they would never go and ask him for anything as they do not trust or believe in him. When the players call him by his first name, he would turn around and reply in a blunt and angry manner as he wanted to be called Tuala.
He would turn up halfway through the week and try to squeeze in some of the community work or some IRB commitments then we have to cut our trainings short to attend these events. I feel the communication was so bad it affected our preparation for every game. And he would always have an excuse of why he wasn’t there, which I didn’t care less [about] because there were more important things in the team to be done than whatever he was doing.
We feel that Matt did not want the team to do well. He really didn’t or probably refused to know that a manager plays a vital part in the team. He should be the “go to” person for the boys but this was not the case; this is why the boys have lost respect for him as he was nowhere to be found constantly. The communication between Matt and the team was a massive breakdown. Even now, we are asking for team photos, still no replies and still continually empty promises. The Getty Images people, have emailed in anger as they have been waiting for so long for payments or a response from either Matt or Su’a. When we ask Su’a, he says it’s Matt; when we ask Matt, he says it’s Su’a. He was pretty much trying to argue with the coaches who knew what they were doing, and not doing what he was there for as the manager. Tuala would have been better off giving the manager job to Ryan as that was the case.
RYAN SCHUSTER
He was trying to do Tuala’s job and cover for him while Tuala was out drinking and playing golf. The biggest problem with Ryan is, he is very dishonest when it comes to the gears. He practically was there as Tuala’s bum boy and we felt sorry for him because he could not do the job properly. His unprofessionalism was a bit much as he would constantly swear [at] the players and treated everything as a joke.
COACHES
They did REALLY well, did an amazing job and worked hard. They analyzed the opposing teams and tried to come up with game plans for every game. They were sick of Tuala and his nonsense by turning up late for every meeting looking hungover. The coaches did not get what they needed to do their job properly, like training gears, balls, training equipment, etc because the manager was not there to organize all this. All [in] all, they did an exceptional job. Coaches and trainers.
MY COMMENTS
Personally I feel that in order for our team to go forward, we need to have honest and committed people or we will never go anywhere. From Harry to board members that were there at the World Cup, they treated this as a massive holiday.
On behalf of myself and the boys, we would like to thank you very much for your support and the country’s support. Without your support, we will never [have been] in this position. We all need to sort this mess out not only for the present but mainly for the future generation. I promise you, if this part is sorted out by getting the right people to do the job, Samoa will be unstoppable.
Ma lo’u fa’aaloalo lava i lau Afioga le Tama o le Atunu’u
Mahonri Schwalger
Manu Samoa Captain
