Manu Samoa 7s Head Coach Brian Lima has made only one change to his line-up for the Hamilton and Sydney legs of the HSBC World 7s Series.
Lima has retained the same team that travelled to South Africa with the exception of skipper Melani Matavao returning from injury, forcing Pelosi “Jimmy” Taupo to miss out.
The change was confirmed in the naming of the 14-member side today.
The forward trio of Uaina Sione, and Co-Captains Vaovasa Afa-Su’a and Vaafauese Apelu-Maliko all return.
They are joined by 21-year-old power forwards Motu Opetai and Taunuu Niulevaea who have both started 8 and 5 matches respectively this season.
Levi Milford retains his spot despite having yet to be named in a starting lineup.
Matavao will lead the backline alongside Paul Scanlan and Steve Rimoni Onosai, who have both fully recovered from injuries sustained in South Africa which prevented them from playing the Cup Final in Cape Town.
Samoa heads into the 4th leg of the HSBC 2022-23 World Series on Top of the Points Table.
The team is pooled with Fiji who are in 5th place and France currently placed 7th.