Samoa national rugby union team

The Marist Brothers brought the game of rugby to Western Samoa in 1924 and The Western Samoa Rugby Football Union was formed in 1924. On 18 August 1924, Western Samoa played its first international against Fiji in the capital Apia, the visitors winning 6–0. The match was played at 7 am to allow the Samoans time to get to work afterwards and was played on a pitch with a large tree on the halfway line. The return match was won 9–3 by Samoa to draw the series.

In 1954 Western Samoa visited both Pacific Island neighbors Fiji and Tonga, but had to wait a further 20 years before a tour of New Zealand took place. The Samoans won one of eight matches on that tour.

The traditional tri-series between Tonga, Fiji and Western Samoa was established in 1982 with Western Samoa winning the first tournament. Wales visited Western Samoa and won the test 32–16 at Apia. The tour led to a return visit to Wales which brought Western Samoa out of International limbo, although Western Samoa were not invited to the first Rugby World Cup in 1987.

The following year a 14-match tour of Europe took place before a World Cup elimination series in Tokyo, which gave Western Samoa a place in the 1991 Rugby World Cup in Britain. They made a huge impact. After sweeping aside Wales 16–13 in Cardiff and defeating Argentina 35–12, and narrowly losing 3–9 to eventual champions Australia in their pool match, Western Samoa, a country with a population of 160,000, found itself in the quarterfinals against Scotland at Murrayfield. The Scots won comfortably 28–6, but the Samoans were clearly the personality team of the tournament. One Welsh fan ruefully remarked after Wales's defeat, "It's a good job we weren't playing all of Samoa."

Over the next two years the side had a number of notable wins. The most outstanding achievement were in Sevens where it won the 1993 Hong Kong and 1992 Middlesex Sevens. The 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa proved that the team belonged in top company. They again reached the quarterfinals after wins over Argentina and Italy, but were beaten 42–14 by the eventual winners South Africa. After the Cup, Manu Samoa made a 13-match tour of England and Scotland, drawing 15–15 with the Scots and going down 27–9 to England.

With the advent of professional rugby in 1995 it was vital for Manu Samoa to develop a new administrative structure. This was made possible with Fay Richwhite and the Western Samoan Rugby Union joining forces to form Manu Samoa Rugby Limited. Fay Richwhite invested $5 million from 1995 to 2004 into Samoan rugby.[4][5]

Japan vs Samoa Rugby Match at Chichibunomiya Stadium on 17 June 2012, which was won by Samoa 27–26

Samoa emerged from the 1999 World Cup with its honor intact after another shock 38–31 victory over host nation Wales in the pool stages. They again lost out to Scotland in the quarter-final play-off.

Manu Samoa qualified for the 2003 World Cup with a 17–16 loss against Fiji, Earl Va'a missing an injury-time penalty. They recovered to beat Tonga both home and away and avenged that Fijian defeat with a 22–12 win in Nadi. They ultimately had to settle for second place in the round robin, behind Fiji on points difference, and a place in the tougher of the two Rugby World Cup 2003 pools alongside automatic qualifiers England and South Africa. In one of the games of the tournament, they led eventual champions England for most of the game before losing 35–22.

Samoa qualified for the 2011 World Cup after beating Papua New Guinea 73–12 in Port Moresby on 18 July 2009. They won 188–19 on aggregate over two matches against Papua New Guinea, having won 115–7 at Apia Park the previous week.[6]

Samoa began their 2011 World Cup campaign preparation with a flying start, after registering an upset against No.2 ranked Australia with a four-try-to-two win of 32–23.[7]

In November 2017, Samoa's prime minister and SRU chairman Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi announced that the organisation was bankrupt,[8] although those claims were denied by world governing body World Rugby.[9]

Samoa have recorded 15 wins against tier 1 nations. In addition, Samoa drew with Scotland 15-15 on the 18 November 1995 at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland.

6 October 1991	Wales	13–16	Samoa	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
	Try: I Evans Emyr Con: Ring Pen: Ring	Report	Try: Vaega Vaifale Con: Vaea Pen: Vaea (2)	Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Patrick Robin (France)

13 October 1991	Argentina	12–35	Samoa	Sardis Road, Pontypridd
	Try: Teran Nougues Con: Arbizu Pen: Arbizu Laborde	Report	Try: Bachop Bunce Lima (2) Tagaloa (2) Con: Vaea (4) Pen: Vaea	Attendance: 8,500

25 June 1994	Samoa	34–9	Wales	Moamoa
	Try: Lam Lima (2) Con: Kellett (2) Pen: Kellett (5)	Report	Pen: N Jenkins (3)	Referee: Barry Leask (Australia)

27 May 1995	Italy	18–42	Samoa	ABSA Stadium, East London
	Try: Cuttitta Vaccari Con: Domínguez Pen: Domínguez Drop: Domínguez	Report	Try: Harder (2) Kellett Lima (2) Tatupu Con: Kellett (3) Pen: Kellett (2)	Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Joel Dume (France)

30 May 1995	Argentina	26–32	Samoa	ABSA Stadium, East London
	Try: Crexell Penalty Try Con: Cilley (2) Pen: Cilley (4)	Report	Try: Harder Lam Leaupepe Con: Kellett Pen: Kellett (5)	Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Dave Bishop (New Zealand)

12 November 1996	Ireland	25–40	Samoa	Lansdowne Road, Dublin
	Try: Wallace Con: Mason Pen: Mason (6)	Report	Try: Leaupepe Patu So'oalo Vaega (2) Con: Va'a (3) Pen: Va'a (3)	Referee: Santiago Borsani (Argentina)

14 October 1999	Wales	31–38	Samoa	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
	Try: Thomas Penalty Try (2) Con: N Jenkins (2) Pen: N Jenkins (4)	Report	Try: Bachop (2) Falaniko Lam Leaega Con: Leaega (5) Pen: Leaega	Attendance: 72,500 Referee: Ed Morrison (England)

8 July 2000	Samoa	43–24	Italy	Apia Park, Apia
	Try: Lima Samania So'oalo Vaega Vili Con: Samania (3) Pen: Samania (4)	Report	Try: Checchinato Moscardi Stoica Con: Pez (3) Drop: Pez	Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Tappe Henning (South Africa)

24 November 2001	Italy	9–17	Samoa	Stadio Tommaso Fattori, L'Aquila
	Pen: Domínguez (3)	Report	Try: Fa'atau Pen: Leaega (2) Vili (2)	Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Robert G. Davies (Wales)

3 December 2005	Argentina	12–28	Samoa	Buenos Aires
	Try: Agulla Fernández Lobbe Con: Fernández Miranda	Report	Try: Johnston Sititi Tagicakibau Con: Warren (2) Pen: Warren (2) Drop: Warren	Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

17 July 2011	Australia	23–32	Samoa	Stadium Australia, Sydney
	Try: Ioane 37' Giteau 70' Con: Giteau (38', 71') Pen: Giteau (40', 41', 57')	Report	Try: Tuilagi 11' Williams 28' Thompson 45' G Pisi 54' Con: T Pisi (13', 29', 55') Pen: T Pisi (3', 65')	Attendance: 29,908 Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)

16 November 2012	Wales	19–26	Samoa	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
	Try: Beck 32' Con: Halfpenny (1/1) 33' Pen: Halfpenny (4/5) 15', 28', 49', 61'	Report	Try: Autagavaia 1' c G Pisi 46' m Leota 77' m Con: T Pisi (1/3) 2' Pen: T Pisi (3/6) 40', 56', 65'	Attendance: 44,329 Referee: Pascal Gauzère (France)

8 June 2013	Samoa	27–17	Scotland	Mr Price Kings Park, Durban
	Try: So'oialo 6' c Tuilagi (2) 11' c, 62' c Con: So'oialo (3/3) 8', 13', 64' Pen: So'oialo (2/3) 53', 69'		Try: Lamont 49' m Pen: Laidlaw (4/5) 10', 18', 31', 41'	Attendance: 9,753 Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)

15 June 2013	Samoa	39–10	Italy	Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
	Try: Williams 20' c Leiua 41' m Leota 53' c Tuifu'a 63' c Va'aulu 72' c Con: Williams (3/4) 21', 53', 64' Anufe (1/1) 73' Pen: Williams (2/3) 30', 51'		Try: Penalty try 70' c Con: di Bernardo (1/1) 70' Pen: Orquera (1/3) 27'	Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

14 June 2014	Samoa	15–0	Italy	Apia Park, Apia
14:00 WST (UTC+13)	Pen: T. Pisi (5/7) 10', 24', 30', 47', 69'	Report (In Italian)		Attendance: 7,000 Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Men's World Rugby Rankings Top 20 as of 23 October 2023[10]
Rank	Change*	Team	Points
1		South Africa	092.79
2		New Zealand	091.56
3		Ireland	090.57
4		France	087.81
5		England	083.72
6		Scotland	083.43
7		Argentina	082.42
8		Wales	080.64
9		Australia	077.48
10		Fiji	076.38
11		Italy	075.93
12		Japan	074.27
13		Portugal	072.78
14		Georgia	072.68
15		Samoa	072.23
16		Tonga	071.57
17		Uruguay	067.39
18		United States	066.22
19		Spain	064.05
20		Romania	063.28
21		Namibia	060.56
22		Chile	060.49
23		Canada	060.46
24		Hong Kong	059.80
25		Russia	058.06
26		Brazil	056.35
27		Netherlands	055.84
28		Switzerland	055.72
29		Belgium	054.58
30		South Korea	053.46
* Change from the previous week
Samoa's historical rankings
See or edit source data.
Source: World Rugby[10] Graph updated to 23 October 2023

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Samoa national XV at test level up until 10 October 2023.[11]

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	5	3	2	0	60%	121	101	+20
Australia	6	1	5	0	16.66%	73	238	−165
Australia A	1	1	0	0	100.00%	31	26	+5
Barbarians	1	0	1	0	0.00%	24	27	−3
Belgium	1	1	0	0	100.00%	37	8	+29
Canada	6	6	0	0	100.00%	169	103	+66
Chile	1	1	0	0	100.00%	43	10	+33
Cook Islands	3	3	0	0	100.00%	102	31	+71
England	9	0	9	0	0.00%	131	310	−179
Fiji	55	21	31	3	41.18%	963	1102	−139
Fiji XV	3	0	3	0	0.00%	20	58	−38
France	4	0	4	0	0.00%	49	156	−107
Georgia	6	2	3	1	33.33%	135	110	+25
Germany	2	2	0	0	100.00%	108	43	+65
Ireland	8	1	7	0	12.5%	121	273	−152
Italy	8	5	3	0	62.5%	192	158	+34
Japan	18	12	6	0	66.67%	547	361	+186
South Korea	1	1	0	0	100.00%	74	7	+67
Namibia	2	2	0	0	100.00%	89	25	+64
New Caledonia	1	1	0	0	100.00%	28	6	+22
New Zealand	7	0	7	0	0.00%	72	411	−339
Papua New Guinea	2	2	0	0	100.00%	188	19	+169
Romania	3	1	2	0	33.33%	59	49	+10
Russia	1	1	0	0	100.00%	34	9	+25
Scotland	12	1	10	1	8.33%	193	332	−139
South Africa	9	0	9	0	0.00%	99	431	−332
Spain	1	1	0	0	100.00%	28	10	+18
Tahiti	1	1	0	0	100.00%	33	11	+22
Tonga	69	38	27	4	55.07%	1291	1028	+263
United States	7	5	2	0	71.42%	156	128	+28
Uruguay	1	1	0	0	100.00%	60	13	+47
Wales	10	4	6	0	40.00%	180	235	−55
West Germany	1	1	0	0	100.00%	54	9	+45
Total	265	119	137	9	44.91%	5495	5838	−333

World Cup record

Samoa performing their Siva Tau before playing South Africa at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Main article: Samoa at the Rugby World Cup

World Cup record									World Cup Qualification record
Year	Round	P	W	D	L	F	A		P	W	D	L	F	A
1987	Not invited								Not invited
1991	Quarter-finals	4	2	0	2	60	72		3	3	0	0	123	21
1995	Quarter-finals	4	2	0	2	110	130		Automatically qualified
1999	Play-off	4	2	0	2	117	107		3	1	0	2	59	71
2003	Pool Stage	4	2	0	2	138	117		4	3	0	1	96	58
2007	Pool Stage	4	2	0	2	69	143		4	3	0	1	133	78
2011	Pool Stage	4	2	0	2	91	49		2	2	0	0	188	19
2015	Pool stage	4	1	0	3	69	124		Automatically qualified
2019	Pool stage	4	1	0	3	58	128		6	3	0	3	196	147
2023	Pool stage	4	1	0	3	92	75		2	2	0	0	79	28
2027	to be determined								Qualification not started
2031
Total	9/10	36	15	0	21	804	977		24	17	0	7	874	422

In one of the scenes of the feature film, Invictus, Western Samoa can be seen playing South Africa in the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Western Samoa's triumph in the 1991 Rugby World Cup was inspired by their assistant coach Bryan Williams, who was a New Zealand-born (of Samoan descent) All Black great of the 1970s. The 1991 Samoan World Cup team included many New Zealand born or raised players; the catalyst was Auckland prop Peter Fatialofa, who in 1989, became the first major New Zealand-based player to play for Samoa. By the time of the 1991 World Cup several other New Zealand-born Samoans like Pat Lam, Stephen Bachop, Frank Bunce and Apollo Perelini had joined him. New Zealand born players with Samoan parentage have played for Samoa, such as Earl Va'a, Pat Lam and Lome Fa'atau.

The rugby relationship that exists between New Zealand and Samoa is a complex one. Close ties exist between the two countries, these bonds first being formed with the start of mass Polynesian migration to New Zealand in the latter half of the twentieth century. At the 2007 World Cup, there were 14 New Zealand-born players in the Samoan squad.[19] The only team with more foreign born players in their squad was Italy who had 15.[19]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samoa national rugby union team kits.

Manu Samoa play in blue and white uniforms, with the home strip consisting of blue jerseys, white shorts and blue socks and the away kit being with the colours reversed. Since 2007, the flag of Samoa has been featured on the left sleeve and pe'a-like patterns were incorporated into the jerseys. Sponsored logos appear on jerseys for matches other than the Rugby World Cup, where branding, except for equipment manufacturers, is not allowed.

• Rugby World Cup
• Pacific Tri-Nations
• Pacific Islanders rugby union team
• Samoa national rugby sevens team
• Samoa Rugby Football Union
• Samoa national rugby league team

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Samoa national rugby union team.

• Manu Samoa
• Samoa Rugby Union
• Manu Samoa Looking Forward For RWC2011 Manu Samoa Rugby blog
• Samoan rugby union news Planet Rugby
• The information website for supporters of the Manu Samoa Rugby Team
• Rankings International Rugby Board
• Pacific Islanders Rugby Team Supporters Site