Union | Samoa Rugby Union | |
---|---|---|
Emblem(s) | the Southern Cross | |
|
Samoa A is a national representative rugby union team of the Samoan rugby union. It is the second-tier side to the Samoa national rugby union team. Samoa A competes in the Pacific Challenge, formerly known as the Pacific Rugby Cup, against teams including Tonga A and Fiji Warriors. [1] Since 2016, the team has also competed in the Americas Pacific Challenge.
Between 2006 and 2010, Samoa was represented by two teams at the Pacific Rugby Cup; Upolu Samoa and Savaii Samoa. The two teams were replaced in 2011 by Samoa A which is now the sole Samoan representative in the Pacific Challenge. The tournament is now mainly contested by national 'A' teams.
Matches against national teams or national 'A" teams up to and including 2014 Pacific Rugby Cup:
22-03-2011 | Samoa A | 12–23 | Fiji Warriors | Churchill Park, Lautoka |
26-03-2011 | Tonga A | 15–13 | Samoa A | Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka |
11-10-2012 | Samoa A | 18–20 | Tonga A | Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku'alofa |
15-10-2012 | Fiji Warriors | 42–34 | Samoa A | Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku'alofa |
04-03-2014 | Samoa A | 27–18 | Tonga A | TG Milner Field, Sydney |
11-03-2014 | Pampas XV | 38–24 | Samoa A | David Phillips Field, Sydney |
Pacific Challenge (formerly Pacific Rugby Cup)
Year | Pos | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | TB | LB | Pts | Final | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 82 | 72 | +10 | — | — | 5 | — | |
2017 | 4th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 78 | 112 | -34 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | |
2016 | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 98 | 56 | +42 | 2 | 0 | 10 | — | |
2015 | 2nd | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 69 | 87 | -18 | 1 | 0 | 3 | — | Finished 2nd in Pool A [2] |
2014 | 4th | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 82 | 91 | -9 | 1 | 2 | 7 | — | Finished 4th in Pool B |
2013 | 2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 134 | 198 | -64 | 1 | 1 | 10 | — | Runner-up on league table (no final) |
2012 | 2nd | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 191 | 238 | -47 | 0 | 1 | 13 | — | Runner-up on league table (no final) |
2011 | 2nd | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 135 | 171 | -36 | 1 | 2 | 15 | — | Runner-up on league table (no final) |
Americas Pacific Challenge
The Samoa national rugby union team represents the Samoa Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. They are also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perform a traditional Samoan challenge called the siva tau before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. They are ranked 11th in the world.
The Fiji national rugby union team represents Fiji in men's international rugby union. Fiji competed in the Pacific Tri-Nations and now competes in its successor tournament Pacific Nations Cup. Fiji also regularly plays test matches during the June and November test windows. They have beaten the major rugby playing sides of Wales, Scotland, Australia, France, Italy, Argentina and England. The only major sides Fiji are yet to beat are New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland.
The Tonga national rugby union team represents the Tonga Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a traditional challenge – the Sipi Tau. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a historic 19–14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but having lost to New Zealand and Canada, were unable to achieve what would have been their first-ever presence at the quarter-finals.
The United States men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States of America Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union. USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States, and is a member of Rugby Americas North, one of six regional governing bodies under World Rugby. Until rugby returned to Olympic competition, with sevens at the 2016 Rio Games, the United States was the reigning Olympic rugby champion, having won gold at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics.
The Tonga national rugby league team represents Tonga in rugby league football. They are currently the fifth ranked team in the world. The team was formed to compete in the 1986 Pacific Cup, and have competed at six Rugby League World Cups, starting in 1995 and continuing consecutively until the most recent tournament. Their best result was at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, where they were semi-finalists.
The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Canada, Japan and the United States. First held in 2006, the tournament is intended to strengthen the Tier 2 rugby teams by providing competitive test matches in a tournament format.
The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams from the Asia-Pacific region. The tournament is run by World Rugby through Oceania Rugby.
Rugby union in Samoa is the country's most popular sport. The national teams in both the standard 15-man game and rugby sevens are consistently competitive against teams from vastly more populous nations.
Rugby union is the national sport of Tonga. Tonga are considered to be a tier 2 rugby nation by the International Rugby Board.
Rugby union in Fiji is a popular team sport and is considered to be the national sport of the country. The sport was introduced to Fiji in the 1880s. Fiji is defined as a tier two rugby nation by World Rugby. The national team has competed at the Rugby World Cup and made it as far as the quarter-finals. Their sevens team is also noted for their success, winning multiple Olympic gold medals, World Rugby Sevens Series and Rugby World Cup Sevens.
Aleki Lutui in Tofoa, Tonga, is a Tongan rugby union international player. His position is hooker. He is currently playing club rugby for Ampthill in RFU Championship.
The Fiji Warriors, also referred to as Fiji A, is a national representative rugby team of rugby union in Fiji. It is the second-tier side to the Fiji national team. The Warriors team is selected from players in the Fijian domestic competitions and competes in the World Rugby Pacific Challenge against Samoa A and Tonga A. Since 2016, the Fiji Warriors team has played in the Americas Pacific Challenge against national A teams from North and South America.
Sport in Tonga consists of many games. Rugby union is the national sport, sumo has a following, while football, judo, surfing, volleyball, and cricket have gained popularity in recent years. Rugby league and Australian football are also played.
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.
Pampas XV is an Argentine professional rugby union team that currently competes in Super Rugby Americas.
John Gregory McKee is a rugby union coach from New Zealand. He is a former coach of the Fiji national rugby 15s team.
Tonga A is a national representative rugby union team of the Tongan rugby union. It is the second-tier side to the Tonga national rugby union team. Tonga A competes in the Pacific Challenge, formerly known as the Pacific Rugby Cup, against teams including Samoa A and Fiji Warriors. Since 2017, the team has also competed in the Americas Pacific Challenge.
The 2015 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup was the tenth edition of the World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup, an annual international rugby union tournament. The 2015 title was contested between the Tier 2 nations of Canada, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and the United States.
Titi Lamositele is an American-Samoan rugby union player who plays at prop for Harlequins. He formerly played for the United States national team, before switching to play for Samoa in 2023.