Manu Samoa shrugged off a strong challenge from the Barbarians to win 28-14 in France on Saturday morning and now gear up to face the world's top-ranked team Ireland.

Manu Samoa started strong and led 11-0 at halftime at the Stade Amedee. Fritz Lee scored the only try of the first half while debutant flyhalf Lima Sopoaga was on fire with two penalty goals.

It was the Manu who started strong in the second half with tries to Tumua Manu and replacement halfback Ereatara Enari. They held the Barbarians scoreless for over 60 minutes with solid defence.

However, the Barbarians had a late surge and scored two tries, with the captain Jean-Luc Du Preez and Henry Speight getting on the scoreboard.

For the Manu Samoa Head Coach, Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua, the Barbarians clash provided him with an overview of how the team was getting along and what combinations were working.

This was the first game he had featured Sopoaga and Ben Lam, though the latter was then subbed due to a possible injury.

“In terms of the game this week against the Barbarians, it gave us an opportunity to have a closer look at our combinations and also test our game plan against an opposition,” he said.

The Barbarians are a selection of players from across different competitions who are barely together for a week but do feature world-class players. But the gaps showed in the team and Manu, who now have been together for six weeks, took the upper hand. 

The Samoan national side now faces the top-ranked team in the world, Ireland with the Irish having just come off a Six Nations campaign and been together for some time. They definitely would be a different opposition when compared to the Barbarians.

But that is not to say that a defeat of the Irish isn't possible with the Manu defeating Ireland in 1996 with a 40-25 when the two teams faced off in Dublin. Perhaps it could be a repeat of history but to achieve that Vaovasamanaia needs to get the team into top-notch form and reduce the penalty count.

The Barbarians game also exposed the chink in the armour which is to last the full 80 minutes. The Manu kept the Barbarians scoreless until after the 67^th minute when they scored two tries in quick succession. 

According to the strength and conditioning gurus of Manu Samoa, the team will get better and perhaps this test against the Irish will provide the litmus test of where they currently are before the World Cup next month. 

Currently, Samoa sits on the 12^th spot on the World Rugby ranking. Manu Samoa takes on Ireland at the Stade Jean-Dauger in France next Saturday (7.45 am Sunday 27 August Samoa Time).