ROTORUA, 12 Sept. - Australia wing Rod Davies is probably still having nightmares about Samoa's Alesana Tuilagi after their encounter earlier this year.

During Samoa's stunning 32-23 upset win over Australia in Sydney in July, Davies was smashed several times by the 111kg Tuilagi.

It was then Matt Giteau's turn in the firing line, as the fly half tried in vain to stop Tuilagi from scoring a blistering 80-metre try.

"He's a monster and he's got a bit of speed," Samoa scrum half Kahn Fotuali'i said ahead of the Pacific Islanders' Rugby World Cup 2011 opener against Namibia in Rotorua on Wednesday.

"He's quite brainy, too, and rugby-smart. You just give him the ball and let him do his thing.

"I think Rod Davies will be having nightmares after the match against the Aussies.

"He (Tuilagi) was on the end of a good backline in defence and I guess he snotted the right person at the right time."

Gentle giant

Tuilagi might be a beast on the field but Samoa centre Johnny Leota said his 30-year-old teammate is a gentle giant away from rugby.

"Off-field he's a bit of a joker," Leota said. "He's a real nice guy and very humble. On-field, he's not one I'd mess with."

Samoa full back Paul Williams, the son of All Blacks legend Bryan, plans on feeding plenty of ball to Tuilagi against Namibia.

"He's all but barred from the gym in his club (Leicester Tigers) in Europe because they figure he's big and powerful enough," Williams said.

"Any power testing we do, he cleans us up. He's a formidable winger."

RNS dp/ar/ig