History
National development of rugby union in American Samoa has been overshadowed by the popularity of American football since the 1970s. Unlike neighbouring Samoa, American Samoa has had limited international rugby competition. Most of American Samoa's matches have been played at the South Pacific Games. [2]
American Samoa's first international 15's match was at the 1983 South Pacific Games in Apia, where they lost 55–0 to Western Samoa (as it was then called). [3] They did not make the final stages of that tournament. American Samoa fared much better at the 1991 South Pacific Games in Port Moresby, notching up wins against Solomon Islands and French Polynesia. While they lost 34–7 to Western Samoa in the final, the American Samoans won the rugby 15's silver medal. [3] [4]
The South Pacific Games (now called the Pacific Games) subsequently switched to hosting rugby 7s in preference to rugby 15s, and the ASRU, while still eligible for the FORU Oceania Cup, turned more of its attention toward the seven-a-side form of the game. American Samoa competed at the Pacific Games Rugby 7s in 2011, and the Oceania Rugby 7s in 2011 and 2012. [2]
In 2015 the Talavalu made their first appearance at the Oceania Rugby Cup. They won their first match against the Solomon Islands 30–15. [5] In their second game, they lost to Papua New Guinea 36–22. [6] [7] Their third game against Tahiti was also a loss, 8–20. The Talavalu's finished the tournament in third place. [8] [9]
The Pacific Games, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2023 in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The Games were called the South Pacific Games from 1963 to 2007. The Pacific Games Council (PGC) organises the Games and oversees the host city's preparations. Athletes with a disability are included as full members of their national teams. In each sporting event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third place.
The Tahiti national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union team, representing the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. They first played in 1971 and have played numerous games to date, most against rivals Cook Islands and several against Niue. Other games have been played against Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. France played a match against Tahiti at the end of their 1979 tour and won 92–12. Plans to have annual "test" match series against Pacific island neighbours, New Caledonia have been put on hold, due to time, availability, finances, and coaching and refereeing resources. They have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Tahiti is administered by the Fédération Tahitienne de Rugby de Polynésie Française. Currently, players who have represented or played for the Tahiti national rugby team, are eligible to represent France. However, playing at a professional level can only enable this. At present there are several Tahitian professional rugby players abroad in France's Top 14 and Pro D2 professional competition.
The Tahiti Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Tahiti. It was founded in 1989 and became affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1994.
The Solomon Islands women's national football team represents Solomon Islands in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) and is affiliated to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). Their current head coach is the former footballer Timothy Inifiri.
The Samoa national rugby sevens team, referred to as Samoa Sevens or Manu Samoa 7s, competes in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series. Representing the polynesian country of Samoa, with a population of about 202,000, the team competes against some of the wealthiest countries in the world. The Samoa sevens team is overseen by the Samoa Rugby Football Union, which oversees all of rugby union in Samoa.
The Fiji women's national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Fiji, representing them at rugby union. They played their first test against Samoa in 2006, and compete annually in the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship. In 2022, they created history when they scored the third-highest points in both Men's and Women's Rugby at the Oceania Championship when they trounced Papua New Guinea 152–0. They made their first Rugby World Cup appearance at the delayed tournament in New Zealand.
Rugby union in American Samoa is a growing sport.
The New Caledonia national rugby union team represents New Caledonia in rugby union. The team has been playing international rugby since the 1960s. All their matches have been against other teams from Oceania.
The Oceania Rugby Men's Championship is an international rugby union competition for countries and territories from Oceania with national teams in the developmental band. It is administered by Oceania Rugby.
The Papua New Guinea national rugby sevens team competes in the Pacific Games, Commonwealth Games, Challenger Series and the Oceania Sevens. They finished third in 2009 and fourth in 2010, 2015, 2016 and 2023 in the Oceania Sevens. They missed out on a maiden Olympic spot after being defeated by Samoa 24-0 in the 2023 Oceania 7s Olympic Playoff.
Sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular playing sport for men in Australia is Australian rules football, while for women is netball. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. Rugby union is the most popular sport among New Zealanders, while in Papua New Guinea rugby league is the most popular. Cricket is another popular sport throughout the Oceania region.
Shalom Suniula is a former rugby league and rugby union player, who played for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR), and for the United States national rugby sevens team. He played rugby union for the United States Eagles XV's, USA Sevens, and at club level for Belmont Shore RFC, as a scrum-half or fly-half. His brothers Andrew and Roland Suniula also played rugby for the U.S.
The American Samoa national rugby sevens team represents American Samoa in rugby sevens. They occasionally compete in the Pacific Games and the Oceania Sevens Championship. They have competed in the World Series core team qualifier in 2014.
The Tuvalu national rugby sevens team participates in the Rugby Sevens competitions at the Pacific Games and the Oceania Sevens Championship.
The Vanuatu national rugby sevens team is Vanuatu's representative in rugby sevens.
The American Samoa Rugby Union, or ASRU, is the governing body for rugby union in American Samoa. It was established in 1990, and became fully affiliated to the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 2012.
The Vanuatu Rugby Football Union, or VRFU, is the governing body for rugby union in Vanuatu. It was established in the 1960s, but only became fully affiliated to the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1999.
The Solomon Islands Rugby Union Federation, or SIRUF, is the governing body for rugby union in Solomon Islands. It was established in the 1960s, but only became fully affiliated to the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1999.
The New Caledonia Rugby Committee is a committee under the umbrella of the French Rugby Federation which is the governing body for rugby union within New Caledonia.
The Nauru national rugby sevens team made its international debut at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
