Manu Samoa wing Belgium Tuatagaloa pays a hefty price to represent his country

For Belgium Tuatagaloa, like many of his national rugby team-mates, playing for his beloved Manu Samoa comes at a cost.

But it's one this quietly spoken, 30-year-old powerhouse wing gladly pays for the privilege of pulling on the prestigious blue jersey of his country and representing his people on the greatest rugby stage of them all.

Tuatagaloa is in the mix to head with Steve Jackson's Samoa team to the World Cup in Japan next month. Their official squad will be named after Saturday's clash against the Heartland XV at Eden Park, but he's odds-on to board that plane.

He deserves it too after making a significant impact in his first full campaign with the Samoa XVs side in the Pacific Nations Cup and now their World Cup buildup which takes in Saturday's Pasifika Challenge and then a much-anticipated clash against the Wallabies in Parramatta.

It's a commitment that has not come easy for the 106kg flyer. Like others in Jackson's squad, Tuatagaloa's decision to go all-in on Samoa's World Cup programme has required a decision that professional rugby players should not have to make.

He has had to put his country ahead of his day job. The one that pays his bills and supports his family. In essence he is out of pocket because he has chosen to play at the highest level the game offers —and something just does not sit right there.

Until this season, Tuatagaloa has plied his trade in France for Valence Romans in the third tier of the nation's professional game.

He helped them, with 18 tries through the 2018-19 campaign, win promotion to the Pro D2 league for the 2019-20 season.

But he has not been offered another contract to be part of that because of the clash the World Cup has with the start of the French season which is already under way.

So, for now, this classy wing and committed Samoan is without a job to go to when his commitments in Japan wind up.