3 standouts from American Samoa join world team from development squad

Trio will line up against Team USA in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday, February 2

World Team Head Coach GREG MARSHALL and his coaching staff has elevated three players from the IFAF Development Team to the active roster of 45 players that will take on Team USA in Austin, Texas, this week.

The trio of standouts from American Samoa will line up as members of the World Team at Austin Westlake High School on Wednesday, February 2 (kickoff 7.30pm) in the second annual USA vs. The World game. Tickets cost $8 and are available at [url]http://www.usavworld.com.

The IFAF Development Team has been taking part in practices in Austin with the World Team this week, enabling the coaching staff to select the three players who best fit the needs of the roster and are likely to make an impact against Team USA.

“It came down to a little bit of depth and needs we had,” said coach Marshall. “But it is really hard because you make three kids really happy and 25 kids are a little disappointed and that is a difficult thing. The good thing is they all have eligibility left and can come back to play another year.”

Defensive lineman JUSTIN TAIMATUIA, wide receiver LAWRENCE TUIOTI-DANIELSONand running back VIAVIA MANUMA were selected to complete the 45-man World Team roster, taking the final number of players from American Samoa in the squad to six.

Coach Marshall said of Taimatuia: “Justin did a few things very well. He can provide some depth at long snapper. Yesterday Levi Steinhauer our long snapper rolled his ankle, so Justin will give us depth. Plus he can help out at fullback and defensive line. He will be multi-purposed we have trained to do both.”

Taimatuia said of his selection: “It feels great. To me it’s a golden opportunity; it is very rare. It was my main goal in coming here. I have my parents praying for me back home. So I knew with God I could make it. My next goal is to play hard as a team and help out in anyway possible.”

Coach Marshall said of Tuioti-Danielson: “We needed a receiver, a kind of physical inside blocking receiver and we felt that Lawrence gave us that physical play that we needed. We were not really deep at inside receiver and needed one more. And he was the best.”

Tuioti-Danielson said of his selection: “It feels awesome. This is another step to my ultimate dream of becoming an NFL player. I wanted to go all out in the practices, do want I usually do. I wanted to play with heart and not get too excited.

“The team is ready for the game. We have worked hard in practices. You have to work well together to be a team and I think do and we are ready to face USA. We are one team, one heart, one soul.”

Coach Marshall said of Manuma: “At running back, Viavia is a talent. He can help at special teams. We thought even though we had some depth at running back, he might be one of the most explosive running backs we have. We expect that he will see some game time and he can help us and make a big impact.”

Manuma said of his selection: “I am excited. This was my goal and now I finally have it. Now I’m going to work hard, play hard to help the team get the trophy.”

All three of the latest World Team recruits played in their country’s 35-0 victory over Australia in the Samoa Bowl earlier this month and were named first team all-stars. Manuma won the offensive MVP award of the Samoa Bowl and was also the MVP of the Samoan high school league.

About IFAF

The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) unites 59 countries on five continents through a burgeoning international sport. With national football federations in existence for more than 75 years, IFAF was created in 1998 to organize and further develop the game through international cooperation and global competition. The IFAF office is located near Paris, France.