Union | Samoa Rugby Football Union | |
---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | Manu Samoa | |
Coach(es) | Brian Lima | |
Captain(s) | Alatasi Tupou | |
Most caps | Uale Mai (359 matches) | |
Top scorer | Uale Mai (1,320) | |
Most tries | Mikaele Pesamino (161) | |
| ||
World Cup Sevens | ||
Appearances | 7 (First in 1993 ) | |
Best result | Third place (1997, 2009) |
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. [1] The Samoa sevens team is overseen by the Samoa Rugby Football Union, which oversees all of rugby union in Samoa.
Samoa won the 2009–10 World Series [2] by winning four tournaments – the Hong Kong Sevens, [3] the USA Sevens, the Adelaide Sevens, and the Edinburgh Sevens. [4] Samoa has played at all Rugby World Cup Sevens finals tournaments since the championship began in 1993; its best finish was third place in 1997 and again in 2007.
Samoa has won four Oceania Sevens titles since the first competition in 2008. They have also won all four gold medals at the Pacific Games Sevens and Pacific Mini Games Sevens between 2007 and 2013, defeating Fiji in the final on each occasion.
The first Samoan sevens team was selected in November 1978 to play at the invitation Hong Kong Sevens [5] under the leadership of former SRU representative captain, Tuatagaloa Keli Tuatagaloa.[ citation needed ] The team included Rev-Dr Faitala Talapusi as captain, Lemalu Roy Slade (Brisbane) as vice-captain, Rev. Paul Gray (Melbourne), Peter Schmidt, Feausiga Sililoto, Rev - Tamā Toeina Andy Leavasa (USA), Salafuti Patu and others. Samoa won the 1993 Hong Kong Sevens. [6]
Olympic Games record | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D | Qualifying | ||
2016 | Did not qualify | Lost 12–19 to Spain in the final of the final qualifying tournament. | |||||||
2020 | Lost 31–0 to France in the semifinal of the final qualifying tournament. | ||||||||
2024 | Qualified | Won Oceania Olympic Qualifying | |||||||
Total | 0 Titles | 1/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - |
In qualifying rounds for the 2016 Olympics, Samoa finished in third place at the 2015 Oceania Sevens Championship, meaning they didn't qualify directly for the Olympics as Oceania's representative. They instead went to the 2016 inter-continental final qualifying tournament, where they lost to Spain 12–19 in the final and failed to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.
1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens - Murrayfield, Scotland
Western Samoa was in Pool D with England, Canada, Spain, Namibia and Hong Kong. After the first of Pool games Western Samoa remained undefeated along with South Africa and New Zealand.
In the quarterfinals Western Samoa was in Pool E alongside Tonga Fiji and Ireland. Western Samoa only win was against Tonga 42-7.
Team List
Coach: Taufusi Salesa
Manager: Marina Schaffhausen
1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens - British Hong Kong
Western Samoa was in Pool C with Argentina and Morocco won both of its games. Western Samoa advanced to the Cup Quarter - finals to play England, winning 21 - 5. In the Cup Semi – Finals lost to eventual winners Fiji 38-14.
Team List
2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens - Argentina
Western Samoa was in Pool D alongside Australia, Wales, United States, Portugal and Hong Kong. Western Samoa advanced to the Cup Quarterfinal, where they would meet New Zealand and eventually exit the tournament with a loss 45 -7.
Team List
Coach: Filipo Saena
2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens - Hong Kong
Samoa was in Pool B alongside England, France, Georgia, Chinese Taipei and Italy. Three teams Samoa, England and France won four of its five pool games but Samoa did not advance to the Cup Quarterfinals because the Points For and Points Against difference was lower of the second placed France. England (+123), France (+82) and Samoa (+79).
Samoa move on the Plate competition and win against Ireland Quarter-finals (19-14), then beat Russia in Semi-finals (19-12) and eventually defeating Portugal to secure the World Cup Plate Final for 2005
Team List
Coach: John Schuster
Rugby World Cup Sevens Record | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Games | Won | Lost | Drew | Most tries | Most points | |||
1993 | Quarterfinals | 5th | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |||||
1997 | Semifinals | 3rd | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | |||||
2001 | Quarterfinals | 5th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||||
2005 | Plate finals | 9th | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |||||
2009 | Semifinals | 3rd | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |||||
2013 | Plate finals | 10th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||||
2018 | Challenge quarterfinals | 13th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | Joe Perez (4) | Alatasi Tupou (24) | |||
2022 | 7th Place Final | 8th | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |||||
Total | 2 Bronze medals | 8/8 | 48 | 34 | 14 | 0 | Brian Lima (17) | Brian Lima (101) |
Commonwealth record | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | D | |||
1998 | Semifinalists | 4th | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | |||
2002 | Semifinalists | 4th | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |||
2006 | Plate Semifinalists | 7th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |||
2010 | Plate Winners | 5th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||
2014 | Semifinalists | 4th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||
2018 | Group stage | 9th-T | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |||
2022 | Fifth Place Playoff | 5th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |||
Total | Three fourth-place finishes | 36 | 20 | 15 | 1 |
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While long a solidly competitive side, Samoa emerged as contenders in the 2006-07 Sevens World Series, finishing third overall while winning two events – the Wellington Sevens and Hong Kong Sevens. The team reached the final four times in a row, playing against series favourite Fiji.
Samoa won the 2009–10 Series in large part due to 2010 World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year Mikaele Pesamino who led all players with 56 tries scored. [7] Samoa were also helped by the efforts of half-back Lolo Lui, another nominee for 2010 Sevens Player of the Year, who scored 264 points. Samoa's third star that season was forward Alafoti Faosiliva, who scored 29 tries and was also a Sevens Player of the Year nominee.
The itinerary for the 2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series:
2009–10 Itinerary [8] | |||
---|---|---|---|
Leg | Venue | Date | Winner |
Dubai | The Sevens | 4–5 December 2009 | New Zealand |
South Africa | Outeniqua Park, George | 11–12 December 2009 | New Zealand |
New Zealand | Westpac Stadium, Wellington | 5–6 February 2010 | Fiji |
United States | Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas | 13–14 February 2010 | Samoa |
Australia | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | 19–21 March 2010 | Samoa |
Hong Kong | Hong Kong Stadium | 26–28 March 2010 | Samoa |
London | Twickenham | 22–23 May 2010 | Australia |
Edinburgh | Murrayfield, Edinburgh | 29–30 May 2010 | Samoa |
Overall Standings
2009–10 Standings [9] | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pos. | Country | Dubai | South Africa (George) | New Zealand (Wellington) | USA (Las Vegas) | Australia (Adelaide) | Hong Kong | England (London) | Scotland (Edinburgh) | Overall | |
1 | Samoa | 20 | 6 | 20 | 24 | 24 | 30 | 16 | 24 | 164 | |
2 | New Zealand | 24 | 24 | 16 | 20 | 12 | 25 | 12 | 16 | 149 | |
3 | Australia | 12 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 24 | 20 | 122 | |
4 | Fiji | 16 | 20 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 8 | 6 | 108 | |
5 | England | 16 | 12 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 96 | |
6 | South Africa | 8 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 6 | 80 | |
7 | Argentina | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 8 | 62 | |
8 | Kenya | 6 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 52 | |
9 | Wales | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 34 | |
10 | United States | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 | |
11 | Canada | DNP | DNP | 6 | 0 | DNP | 5 | 4 | 0 | 15 | |
12 | Scotland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12 |
Event | Venue | Winner | Score | Runner-up |
---|---|---|---|---|
2022 South Africa Sevens | Cape Town Stadium | Samoa | 12–7 | New Zealand |
2016 Paris Sevens | Stade Jean Bouin | Samoa | 29–26 | Fiji |
2012 Dubai Sevens | The Sevens Stadium | Samoa | 26–15 | New Zealand |
2012 USA Sevens | Sam Boyd Stadium | Samoa | 26–19 | New Zealand |
2011 Safari Sevens | Nyayo National Stadium | Samoa | 31–12 | Samurai Sevens |
2010 Edinburgh Sevens | Murrayfield Stadium | Samoa | 41–14 | Australia |
2010 Hong Kong Sevens | Hong Kong Stadium | Samoa | 24–21 | New Zealand |
2010 Adelaide Sevens | Adelaide Oval | Samoa | 38–10 | United States |
2010 USA Sevens | Sam Boyd Stadium | Samoa | 33–12 | New Zealand |
2008 London Sevens | Westpac Stadium | Samoa | 19–14 | Fiji |
2007 Hong Kong Sevens | Hong Kong Stadium | Samoa | 27–22 | Fiji |
2007 Wellington Sevens | Westpac Stadium | Samoa | 14–7 | Fiji |
2005 Safari Sevens | RFUEA Ground | Samoa | 50-5 | Western Province |
1993 Hong Kong Sevens | Hong Kong Stadium | Western Samoa | 14–12 | Fiji |
1992 Middlesex Sevens | Twickenham Stadium | Western Samoa | 30–6 | London Scottish |
In July 1997, the Government of Samoa changed the country's name from Western Samoa to Samoa. [10]
The following players have been selected to represent Samoa during the 2023–24 SVNS tournament beginning in December 2023.
Note: Caps reflect the total number of SVNS events competed in as of the 2023 South Africa Sevens.
Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Club/province |
---|---|---|---|---|
Vaovasa Afa Su'a (c) | Forward | 11 October 1991 | 18 | Tama Uli |
BJ Telefoni Lima | Forward | 1999 (age 24–25) | 6 | Marist St. Joseph |
Taunuu Niulevaea | Forward | 21 January 2000 | 14 | Safotu |
Motu Opetai | Forward | 20 June 2001 | 18 | Matāfala |
Paulo Scanlan | Forward | 9 August 1996 | 25 | Moata'a |
Elisapeta Alofipo | Back | 11 December 1997 | 28 | Tama Uli |
Faafoi Falaniko | Back | 14 March 2002 | 17 | Tepatasi |
Faamaoni Junior Lalomilo | Back | 10 July 2000 | 3 | Marist St. Joseph |
Malakesi Masefau | Back | 9 January 2005 | 4 | Tepatasi |
Levi Milford | Back | 18 September 2001 | 10 | Marist St. Joseph |
Pelasio Samuelu Niuula | Back | 2001 (age 22–23) | 2 | Tepatasi |
Taitaifono Senio Tavita | Back | 2004 (age 19–20) | 2 | Apia Maroons |
Paul Eti Slater | Back | 12 September 1993 | 14 | Laulii Lions |
Squad to 2015 Pacific Games: [11]
2014 Commonwealth Games Squad [12] |
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Two of the highest points and try scorers in series history, Uale Mai and Mikaele Pesamino, played for Samoa. Pesamino was also named the 2010 IRB International Sevens Player of the Year, an honour which Uale Mai, a former team captain and one of the most capped players in the sport, had won in 2006. Captain Lolo Lui and teammate Alafoti Fa'osiliva had also been nominated. [13]
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The following table shows Samoa's statistical career leaders in the World Rugby Sevens Series. Players in bold are still active. Mikaele Pesamino is Samoa's top try scorer in the World Rugby Sevens Series. He was the overall top try score in both the 2006–07 (43 tries) and the 2009–10 (56 tries) seasons.
Rank | Player | Tries |
---|---|---|
1 | Mikaele Pesamino | 161 |
2 | Uale Mai | 142 |
3 | Alafoti Faosiliva | 127 |
4 | Alatasi Tupou | 96 |
5 | Samoa Toloa | 93 |
The following Samoa Sevens players have been recognised at the World Rugby Awards since 2004: [15]
CoachesThe current coach is Brian Lima, former player of the Samoa national rugby sevens team. Past coaches include:
Other statistics
See alsoRelated Research ArticlesThe SVNS, known as the HSBC SVNS for sponsorship reasons, is an annual series of international rugby sevens tournaments run by World Rugby featuring national sevens teams. Organised for the first time in the 1999–2000 season as the IRB World Sevens Series, the competition was formed to promote an elite-level of international rugby sevens and develop the game into a viable commercial product. The competition has been sponsored by banking group HSBC since 2014. The Hong Kong Sevens is a rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competition, the Hong Kong Sevens is currently the seventh tournament on the World Series calendar. The tournament spans three days, beginning on a Friday and concluding on Sunday. The tournament is organised each year by the Hong Kong Rugby Union (HKRU). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The latest Hong Kong Rugby Sevens is being held on Friday 5 April, Saturday 6 April, Sunday 7 April 2024. Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long career in fifteen-a-side rugby at both club and national team levels. Nicknamed "The Wizard" by commentators, he is widely considered to be the greatest rugby sevens player in the history of the game. A biography of Serevi titled Waisale Serevi: King of Sevens by Nick Darvenzi was published in 2018. 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. Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport outside of the Summer Olympics. The 2005–06 World Sevens Series was the seventh edition of the global circuit for men's national rugby sevens teams, run by the International Rugby Board since 1999-2000. The series was won by Fiji in the last event of the competition, ending New Zealand's 6-year run as series champions. Fiji needed to finish in fifth place or higher at the London Sevens to ensure that they would win the series ahead of England, but won the tournament handily with 54–14 victory over Samoa in the final. The 1993 Rugby World Cup Sevens was held at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, Scotland, in April 1993. This tournament was the inaugural Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament. The International Rugby Board invited the established rugby union nations but also were keen to involve emerging nations in the event, recognising the fact that Sevens was providing the bridge between the developed rugby nations and those whose rugby union traditions were less well established. 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 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. Upolu Samoa is a former Samoa rugby union representative team that played in the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Samoan team in the Cup was Savaii Samoa. The players for Upolu Samoa were selected from all rugby union competitions in Samoa. The United States national rugby sevens team competes in international rugby sevens competitions. The national sevens team is organized by USA Rugby, and the team has been led by Head Coach Mike Friday since 2014. Mikaele Pesamino is a rugby union player in the Samoa Sevens team. He was the highest point scorer in the 2009–2010 IRB Sevens World Series helping his country in securing their first World Series crown and was awarded the 2010 IRB World Rugby Sevens Player of the Year. The Ireland national rugby sevens team competes in several international rugby sevens competitions. The team is governed by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). The 2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series was the eleventh of an annual series of rugby union sevens tournaments for full national sides run by the International Rugby Board since 1999–2000. Samoa won the IRB Sevens World Series crown for their first time. The 2010 USA Sevens took place on February 13 and February 14 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the fourth Cup trophy in the 2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series. It was the first edition of the USA Sevens to be held in the Las Vegas area; the tournament had been hosted by the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California from 2004 to 2006, and by San Diego from 2007 to 2009. The USA Sevens is played annually as part of the IRB Sevens World Series for international rugby sevens. The 2018 Hong Kong Sevens was the 43rd edition of the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, and the seventh tournament of the 2017–18 World Rugby Sevens Series. The performance from this tournament determined the first fourteen seedings of the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament alongside the past year's series and the previous six event of the 2017–18 season. Alefaio Vaisuai is a Samoan former rugby sevens player who played as flanker. The 2019 Hong Kong Sevens was a rugby sevens tournament that took place at the Hong Kong Stadium between the 5–7 April 2019. It was the 44th edition of the Hong Kong Sevens, and the seventh tournament of the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series. Sixteen teams competed in the main tournament, while a further twelve competed in a qualifier tournament with the winner getting core team status for the 2019–20 World Rugby Sevens Series. The 2019 Singapore Sevens was a rugby sevens tournament played at the National Stadium in Singapore on 13–14 April 2019. It was the eighth edition of the Singapore Sevens and the eighth tournament of the 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series. Angelo Davids is a South African rugby sevens player for the South Africa national rugby sevens team, where his regular position is wing and back. He also plays for the DHL Stormers in super rugby and the Western Province in the currie cup. References
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