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Samoa cover tattoos at Rugby World Cup as sign of respect for Japan

Tusi Pisi of Samoa. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)

NZ Herald

Samoa are hiding their tattoos at the World Cup, as a mark of respect to the hosts.

But the cover up will only go so far, it has been revealed.

The Samoan players will wear skin suits after the team consulted a Japanese cultural expert.

Captain Jack Lam said: “We had someone coming in and giving us a heads-up about what we could expect in Japan.

“There’s a lot of similarities in our cultures but when it comes to the tattoos we have obviously got a lot of tattoos, it’s quite normal in our culture.

“But we are respectful and mindful to what the Japanese way is. We will be making sure that what we are showing will be OK.”

The skin suits will not be needed during games but they will be used at other venues.

Samoan are in Pool A with Japan, Scotland, Ireland and Russia.

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Tattoos have long been associated with criminal organisations in Japan, their so-called mafia, and people wearing them can be prevented from entering public places like pools and beaches.

Samoan manager Va’elua Aloi Alesana said every boy, at a certain age, gets a tattoo “as a kind of passport to get into the group and serve the chiefs.”

“Our view is that we have to respect the culture of the land we are in wherever we go. We have our own culture as well but we are not in Samoa now,” Aloi Alesana said.

“There are some training venues that have allowed us to show our tattoos and some places where we can’t, and for those places, we’ve been given ‘skins’ to wear to cover our tattoos.

“The extra skins are only for when we go to the (swimming) pools though, at the training we can wear our normal clothes.”

One of Lam’s tattoos is a woman’s face behind a big rose. Other players have more traditional markings. It is a custom that goes back thousands of years in the Pacific Island nation.

World Cup tournament directors Alan Gilpin said teams had shown “huge goodwill” towards the Japanese culture.

“Many of the teams are very understanding of that and will be covering with various items of clothing,” Gilpin said.

But there is no directive to cover up on the field. Some Wallaby players have reportedly used rash vests while in public pools.

This article first appeared on nzherald.co.nz and was republished with permission.

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H
Hellhound 46 minutes ago
South Africa will beat England at a canter

You forget that this was the 3rd Test between the AB's and the English this year. They were prepared and they knew how to keep NZ quiet. The Boks is not NZ.


The Boks is a whole other level. You overestimate England and underestimate the Boks. Clearly you haven't really looked at the teams. Besides the Irish games earlier this year, the Boks have mainly used experimental sides, even against the AB's.


Now they have chosen their best team available. They have targeted this game. The Boks mean business. Man for man, this Bok team is better. In strategy and player abilities there is no comparison and they are outmatched.


There isn't just monster strength, but unreal speed. In broken play there is currently no better team as well as defensively, not to even talk about the attacking threat, both from front and the back.


I'd say read between the lines, see what everyone is seeing, but clearly you are wearing blinders and is also putting too much emphasis on an AB's team the Boks beat twice this year, the same AB's that beaten England 3 times this year.


When Rassie gets serious, the players become machines. There is no stopping them. That bench is loaded with players that is fast, strong and have exceptional skills. This is a team not many teams will face before the 2027 WC, because the Boks doesn't use their best between WC's in one game. All experimental.


You will be proven wrong on Saturday and then you will wonder how you could have been so wrong. This Bok team means serious business. They came to conquer and not just by a close score. They want to demolish and they will. This England team at most is a 60 min team. Against the Boks that just won't cut it

14 Go to comments
H
Hellhound 1 hour ago
South Africa will beat England at a canter

Not bizarre, but needed. Everyone usually lifts their game against the Boks. Now instead of facing reality, they prefer to live in the past and look hopefully toward the score of the WC semi, hoping they can recreate that result and by some miracle snatch a victory.


It's better than the alternative knowing what is going to happen. Especially looking at the experimental squads the Boks put up against the Wallabies in the RC, not using their best team. That same Wallabies beat them last week.


Now the Boks isn't using an experimental squad. They put out as close to the strongest team the Boks have available at the moment. That must scare the pants off of them. If an experimental squad can destroy the Wallabies, what would the strongest team be able to do to the English?


Instead of sinking into dispear, they prefer to hope that their players can match the Boks. Even though they know what is coming. The English are scared and they won't show it.


Now imagine how Wales must feel knowing they are up next weekend? They don't even have the dubious record of at least close losses like the English. It's a complete nightmare for these 2 countries and rightly so.


The Boks usually take the pedal of the medal post WC's, but not this Bok team. They are better than the WC winning Boks of both '19 and '23. They are stronger up front. They are faster at the back. They can hit front and back. In broken play they are the most dangerous team. They have the best defence and attack also scoring the most tries.


In a way I feel sorry for both the English and Wales. Only those with blinders on expects a close game. Looking at both teams man to man, strategy to strategy, play to play, they are so outmatched it would be a joke if it wasn't so serious. We need the NH to be strong and we need the gap to become closer in rugby so the game stay exciting because runaway scores sometimes is fun, but it doesn't bring as much joy as a close game won.

14 Go to comments
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