Rugby World Cup: Samoa international and former Hong Kong coach Bella Milo on potentially facing city in ‘mixed emotions’ qualifier
- Eyeing a fourth World Cup outing, Milo recalls getting ‘a bit emotional’ while previously serving as Hong Kong backs coach against Samoa
- Facing ‘second home’ Hong Kong would be ‘a cool and different experience’ but fixture is dependent on Kazakhstan play-off in February
Samoa national team star Bella Milo has already been to three Rugby World Cups – twice as a Manusina player and once as a Hong Kong coach – but qualifying for a fourth in her birthplace of New Zealand would be the stuff of dreams.
What’s more, the 35-year-old could face Hong Kong in the Final Qualification Tournament should they beat Kazakhstan in an Asian play-off slated for February 13.
“Mixed emotions, but I think it’ll be more exciting than anything,” said Milo, who last played for Samoa against Fiji in 2019 and, as of March, no longer works for the Hong Kong Rugby Union.
“I worked for the HKRU for five years – played with and coached some of the players – so coming up against them will be quite special,” she said. “Hong Kong is my second home. It would be a cool and different experience to play internationally against Hong Kong.”
“The last time Samoa played Hong Kong was a couple of years back. I was strength and conditioning coach for Hong Kong, and I wasn’t involved in Samoa when that cap was happening,” Milo said, explaining they were breeding more New Zealand-based players at the time.