Scoop Images: Samoa - "It's going crazy"

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Friday 11th November - APIA: Pupils at Apia's Loto Taumafai Education Centre for the Disabled staged an enactment of the Tua/Lewis fight today.

The centre is home to the Silent World Theatre - an internationally known deaf theatre troupe.

The outcome was never in question with David Tua achieving a knock out in the third round to ecstatic shouts of joy from the watching crowd of disabled students.

The chant of "Tua-Man, Tua-Man," punctuated the air, followed by the silent "clapping" of the deaf. Hands held high and shaking.

The school's principal Peter West, a New Zealand in Samoa for the last three years as a Volunteer Service Abroad volunteer, says he hasn't seen anything like the excitement surrounding the Tua fight in his time in Samoa.

"It's going crazy."

There are prayer meetings being held around the country. The police force are wearing the ulafala necklaces popularised by Samoa's favourite sporting son - as is half the male population.

The necklaces are traditionally only worn by orators, but the country's matais have given their blessing for everyone to wear them in tribute to Tua.

Usually selling for about $15 the going price at the market this week is $25 top $30 tala.

This weekend sees an extraordinary sporting trifecta for Samoa with Manu Samoa meetings Wales, Toa Samoa playing the league champions Australia and David Tua taking a shot at the world heavy weight title.

But it is the Tua fight which is galvanising the nation.

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