A woman from the village of Tuanai will join rugby fans from around the world on Saturday at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris to watch the 2023 Rugby World Cup grand final.

Jamalieh Pereniseaila, 27, has won an all-expenses paid trip to France courtesy of local telco Vodafone Samoa to watch the RWC grand final between the New Zealand All Blacks and the South African Springboks. 

Speaking at the official presentation of her prize at the Vodafone headquarters on Monday, she said she didn't envisage purchasing a new smartphone would make her the lucky winner from over a million entries received.  

While acknowledging that Manu Samoa's RWC campaign ended at the group stage, Ms. Pereniseaila said she is elated that she will be at the stadium in France in person to support the Springboks. 

She said she bought a new phone to assist with her work, opting for the iPhone 14 Pro which cost over SAT$5,000 and didn't think she'd end up being the major prize winner with a around-the-world trip valued at over double what she paid. 

“My old one broke down around July and I used to carry my laptop around with a router everywhere I go until I really needed a phone to answer my urgent work mail and so I went to buy a new phone,” said Ms. Pereniseaila. “It was so out of the blue, I didn’t expect this. I got the phone call and I was shocked to hear that I won and I was over the moon.

“Thank you to Vodafone, if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be going to Paris and I know a lot of people who dream of being there and seeing the Eiffel Tower and I am lucky to be watching the game in person instead of on the TV.” 

According to the Tuanai villager, the all-expenses paid trip is an early Christmas present for her and she is taking leave to enjoy her short vacation in Paris.

“I don’t know what I want to do first so I’ll just go with the flow. I can’t wait to take a photo of the Eiffel Tower that I only see on television," she said. 

Manu Samoa player Melani Matavao attended the presentation ceremony on Monday morning to present the prize to the excited 27-year-old. 

The drawing of the lucky winner by Vodafone Samoa took place on 11 October 2023 when the company revealed that she was the winner of the ‘Win a trip to Paris’ campaign. The promotion enables her to travel from Samoa to Paris with her flight scheduled to depart Samoa this week on Wednesday and return on 3 November 2023. Her prize includes a ticket to the RWC final, accommodation at the Hotel Lumieres Montmartre as well and USD$2,000 spending money.