WRU urge support for Samoa disater relief

Welsh rugby fans are being urged to use the forthcoming visit of the Samoan national rugby squad to Wales as a focus for helping the victims of the Tsunami which has struck the Pacific Island.

The Welsh Rugby Union is planning to use the match to highlight the plight of the islanders in a bid to encourage support for the relief operation.

Rugby fans arriving at the Millennium Stadium on November 13 will also be asked to contribute cash to bucket collections which will be donated to a charity or charities raising disaster funds.

The WRU is also liaising with the International Rugby Board and Samoan rugby officials to discover what other help can be delivered through the focus on the November international.

Officials from the WRU will be liaising with relief charities to seek advice on how the fans of Wales can deliver help. Information gathered during this process will be shared through the WRU official website in the weeks leading up to the game.

The WRU has been in touch with the Samoan Rugby Union and the IRB since the disaster and despite the devastation in Samoa and surrounding areas, there is nothing to suggest the game is in any doubt at the moment.

WRU Group Executive Roger Lewis, said: "We want to offer our sympathy and condolences to all those directly affected by the worst Tsunami to hit the Samoan islands for a hundred years.

"It is still very early in the relief and rescue operation, but we want our friends in Samoa to know that the rugby players, administrators and supporters of Wales have them firmly in our thoughts.

"At a time like this everyone just wants to help and we know the visit of the Samoan team to Wales will bring the reality of this disaster into sharp focus for us all.

"November 13 will be a fresh opportunity for us all to make a small but meaningful difference at a time when the Samoan people will need as much help as they can get. You can be sure that the Samoan team will get a fantastic welcome when they walk out in front of the Welsh crowd."

WRU Chairman, David Pickering, said: "The people of Wales and Samoa enjoy very close links through our shared love of rugby so we are all very aware of the human cost of the devastation we have all witnessed.

"The international fixture is an opportunity for us to make a contribution to the relief effort and it is important we grasp that chance.

"There will be a huge outpouring of help and sympathy for all the victims of this Tsunami but this will be a chance to rekindle the focus on that help several weeks on from the initial impact of the disaster. Samoa are a very proud people and I'm sure these events will unite the team even further to produce an especially passionate performance.

IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset added, "We are in contact with the affected Rugby Unions. Rugby has a strong tradition of global friendship and coming together to support communities where Rugby is played in times of need and the IRB will be doing all that it can to assist the affected areas."

The Welsh Rugby Union is also donating a share of revenue generated from the November international to Samoa for the development of rugby on the island.

In 2005 the WRU hosted a concert at the Millennium Stadium to raise funds for victims of the Tsunami which struck Thailand and South East Asia.