Samoa

Neither rain nor clouds could dampen the mood of the July 15^th afternoon.

The decathlon got underway at Apia Park Stadium with the 100m sprint followed by long jump, shot put, high jump and the 400m under the shadow of the Pacific Games torch blazing through the gloomy sky.

Iga, whose forte is the pole vault, one of the five remaining events of the men’s decathlon, currently sits at second place on the results table in his bid for a medal.

Emilene Taulu, captain of the Cook Islands team who had won bronze yesterday, was taken by surprise when her partner Tupuga Amo proposed following a group haka.

Amo, who is also coach of the Cook Islands' men's va'a team, popped the question after the women's team had received their medals – and Taulu said yes.

Afterwards, Taulu admitted to the Pacific Games News Service that she had suspected a proposal was on the way but had not expected it to be at such a high-profile location.

The women prevailed 16-4 in the gold medal match at Apia Park to become the event's first ever women's rugby league champions.

Fiji captain Timaima Ravisa opened the scoring with a breakaway try late in the first half and capped the result with an intercept try after the full-time siren had sounded.

An emotional Ravisa said PNG is a tough team to beat but they worked hard on defence and were able to capitalise on their opponents mistakes.

The competition was recently dominated by Fiji at the last Pacific Games with four gold, two silver and two bronze medals across men’s and women’s events.

The event will also feature popular names that will be defending their titles.

The young Cook Islands men’s pair Taiki Paniani and Aidan Zittersteijn, who won bronze at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (the country’s first ever Commonwealth Games medal) will be competing at Samoa 2019 in all four men’s events, and gunning for further silverware.

Fiji, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tahiti will contest singles, doubles, mixed doubles and team events for men and women.

PNG, New Caledonia and Fiji are expected to dominate after sharing 21 available medals amongst them at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby.

New Caledonia’s Nicolas Massenet who won gold in the men’s singles, men’s doubles and men’s team competition at Port Moresby 2015 is returning to defend all of his titles.

There are different local caterers assigned to every venue’s dining halls, including on Savai’i, where Boxing will take place, with test runs of all their menus in preparation when the Games open on Sunday 7 July.

“There are caterers specifically for athletes and Technical Officialsand others for volunteersandVIPs,” said Analosa Manuele, Catering Coordinator of the Pacific Games Office.

“For the Pacific Games, we are working together with the caterers to make sure that the meals provided are hot, fresh, nutritious and safe for consumption.

About 3,500 athletes from 24 nations across the region will compete in 26 sports from next Monday.

Samoa was only awarded the hosting rights in September 2017 after the Tongan government claimed it could not afford to stage the event.

But Pacific Games Council CEO Andrew Minogue says the Pacific Games Office in Samoa has done a very good job in a very short amount of time to ensure everything is ready to go.

"The organising committee opened for business on the 1st of March last year so really it's only 15 or 16 months," he said.

To have the students carry the baton brought the communities together in unison, manifesting the slogan of the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games, “one in spirit.” 

The Savai'i leg of the relay will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday before coming to Upolu.

People of all ages flooded the streets as the torch baton for the Games made its way through and the event was live-streamed on Facebook.

The Samoans got off to a terrific start at Leichhardt Oval under lights when Jarome Luai took advantage of spacing in the Kumuls’ ruck, sliding over for his team’s first try of the match.

Jamayne Isaako converted for a 6-point lead four minutes into the 2019 Ox & Palm Pacific Test Invitational match.

The monster Samoan forward pack kept battering the PNG defense but superb performance by the Kumuls kept them at bay until 20 minutes into the match when Josh Aloiai once again capitalises on gaps within the Kumuls’ line.

Speaking at the ceremony yesterday Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Malielegaoi thanked China saying the building of the Multi-Sport Centre aligns with the government's vision to grow Faleata as the sports hub of Samoa and the Pacific region.

The Multi-Sport Centre consists of two state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor netball courts built to international specifications. It also has the capacity to host badminton, basketball, table tennis, boxing and other indoor sports.