Not for the first eight hours. Nor the seven daily sessions that followed. This hulking Samoan chief simply staring through the razor as it attacked his thighs and groin with such intensity, fellow matais (chiefs) have died receiving it.

But sitting now beneath a coconut tree on the Apia foreshore, that same blue inkwork peeking from beneath his cargo shorts, Tuilagi is in foreign territory. Misting up.

And all as he stares at South Sydney skipper Roy Asotasi.

"Because what you have done here," he struggles, "what all you guys have done for our people ... thank you".

Asotasi and his NRL superstar mates Andrew Johns, Nigel Vagana and Wendell Sailor travelled to tsunami-ravaged Samoa last week on a mission of hope, using their status as sporting heroes to bring some joy and peace to a place that has suffered greatly since September's disaster.

And Samoans will never forget the day Asotasi played Santa Claus.

Sure, they'll lose those Rabbitoh wristbands he threw like confetti.

Will burst the balloons, wear out the boots, even dirty beyond recognition those NRL tees he tossed from the back of a truck.

But they'll never forget that Big Roy came.

That is why this hulking prop, a proud man whose own left side is inked in Samoan heritage, receives the red ula fala normally reserved for village chiefs. Why Wendell Sailor drinks tea with the High Commissioner and Andrew Johns' photo appeared four times in last Thursday's Samoa Observer.

Honours not even bestowed on NBA superstar Karl "The Mailman" Malone when he arrived on the islands with tsunami aid.

And it's because Johns is the first white man to get out here among the rubble ensuring every child receives a gift. Because Nigel Vagana, too, personally seeks out children with the sadness in their eyes.

Like that little Lepa girl who has so obviously lost the spark, that forwardness which before the wave bubbled in every Samoan child. A girl refusing even to accept her gifts despite the prompting of Grandma.

So Vagana goes to her, whispering quietly in Samoan. Revealing little more later than, "I just wanted her to know we care".

And for three days Tuilagi watches these leaguies throw themselves into an itinerary drawn up by Johns. It was Johns' surfing mate Tom Herschell being so keen to help he created the Waves of Hope charity. And retired pro Mick Lowe telling the High Commissioner how every story has him reaching for his own wife Amanda and kids Samuel and Josie.

"Because you've got three loved ones and two hands," he shrugs.

"So what would I do when that wave comes?"

Those same stories are why Melbourne prop Jeff Lima donated gifts from his Saturday wedding to the cause. Ensuring only hours after Vagana and company left, another minivan hit the coast with Frank Pritchard, Greg Inglis and Antonio Kaufusi. Sam Tagataese, Sika Manu and Jeremy Smith.

Which is why Tuilagi sat beneath that coconut tree looking directly into the eyes of Asotasi. Crying.