It was as if the organisers could not wait to get rid of Samoa and their prolific Twitterer Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu. The islanders, barring the full-back Paul Williams who had to face a disciplinary committee after being sent off against South Africa on Friday, were on a flight out of Auckland airport 17 hours after losing to the Springboks even though they had not technically been knocked out of the tournament.

The narrow defeat to South Africa meant Samoa had the slimmest of chances of going through. They needed Fiji to beat Wales by 47 points early on Sunday morning but the prospect was unlikely enough to get Rugby World Cup to order the islanders' boarding passes.

"I hope that in future we get the respect we deserve," said the Gloucester centre Fuimaono-Sapolu, one of a midfield triangle that caused consternation in the renowned South Africa defence. "I am sick and tired of people calling us minnows and treating us as if we are.

"We have an outstanding team but a number of the boys were playing their fourth match in 17 days and that is absolutely pathetic. If we had the same turnarounds as South Africa and Wales, I can guarantee we would have made the semi-finals, if not the finals. We have shown what we can do."

A qualified solicitor, Fuimaono-Sapolu has been so prolific and outspoken on Twitter that RWC could have been forgiven for employing someone full-time to monitor his output. He was warned for a rant following the defeat to Wales and he caused consternation when he revealed last week that the wing Alesana Tuilagi had been fined for wearing a mouth guard bearing the logo of an inappropriate sponsor.

In fairness to RWC, other teams had been fined for breaking the regulation governing the break of the tournament's commercial protocol, but there is an agreement with the participating countries that infringements and sanctions are not revealed publicly.

"The way we looked at the South Africa game was that it had nothing to do with the World Cup," Fuimaono-Sapolu said. "It was a one-off. We feel as a team that the tournament has been invalidated because it has pitched weary teams against well-rested ones. We had three days off to play Wales and four before South Africa. They had double that time.

"We felt it was not about trying to progress further: it was Manu Samoa versus the world champions. It was for our people and the little snotty-nosed children who donated two tala [50p] to help us raise funds to come to this tournament when they had no T-shirts; for everyone in Samoa who absolutely thought we could beat them.

"It is not enough that we came close because we always come close. At least we are consistent. We can rumble with the big guys but we need things to go our way, like the scheduling and not fining people for wearing mouth guards. Be fair and I guarantee this team will be the best in the world.

"We had a go at South Africa but we were not allowed to do our thing. David Lemi was penalised for holding on when no one had tackled him. It was ridiculous. Give us some respect. We are not stupid. There should be one law for everyone but there have been so many examples of injustice."

Fuimaono-Sapolu made one remark about the match referee Nigel Owens but it would be wrong to repeat a potentially slanderous remark made in the pain of defeat. He said it was his last appearance for Samoa because, at the age 31, he felt "knackered" but pledged to return to the country to help develop the next generation of players.

"We have so much talent," he said. "The young guys just need guidance and that rests with the experienced players. Nine other countries have players in their squads who were born in Samoa. We have the potential to become the best team in the world but we need help."

Samoa did not help themselves by leaving Fuimaono-Sapolu on the bench until their final game and omitting the wing Lemi entirely until Friday. "I feel a bit bitter about that," said the centre. "I have played nonstop for the last year and I hope to have a bit of a rest now. That depends on Gloucester. They have been brilliant to me, helping me become a better player and I owe them a lot. If they want me to return earlier, I will."