Mapusua's thoughts with homeland

Mapusua has 11 caps for Samoa

Seilala Mapusua admits it has been difficult for London Irish's Samoan contingent to focus on rugby after the tsunami in their homeland.

More than 100 people were killed in the tragedy last week.

Exiles centre, Mapusua, told BBC Berkshire: "Everyone knows someone who was involved, so it's been a hard time but we've still got a job to do."

The Exiles, who have four Samoan internationals in their ranks, face Leinster in the Heineken Cup on Friday.

Mapusua added: "My initial reaction was to get over there straight away. There are a few distant relatives from my Dad's family who passed away - one family lost about 30 members.

"It helps, as well as not helping, that we're so far away. It's difficult, especially as we're such a small country. This is how we feed our families, so that helps us get back on task."

Mapusua and his fellow Samoans at Irish - Sailosi Tagicakibau, Elvis Seveali'i and George Stowers - plan to get together with other countrymen playing the Premiership to raise some funds.

"There's been an estimated cost of $380 million and we're not a wealthy country and a lot of the resorts along the coastline have been hit, which brings money into Samoa," he said.

With so many Samoans over here playing we're planning to do some fundraising

Seilala Mapusua

"It's going to take a while to get Samoa back on its feet, but we're a strong-willed and family-orientated people so we'll pull together.

"We're putting something together over here - the club's been really helpful - and with so many Samoans over here playing, we're planning at the moment to do some fundraising, so people should keep an eye out."

Meanwhile Mapusua and Seveali'i are preparing to face Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon Darcy in Dublin on Friday night and are relishing the task.

"If you're going to do something, why not jump into the deep end," he said.

"We're up against the Irish midfield. Brian O' Driscoll is one of the greatest - if not the greatest - centre in the professional era and Darcy isn't far behind him.

"They're both strong runners with the ball and defend well. It's a huge challenge but one I'm looking forward to."

Leinster versus London Irish kicks off at 2000 BST on Friday, 9 October and is live on BBC Berkshire.