The Samoa national rugby union team represents Samoa in men's international rugby union and it is governed by the Samoa 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 Tonga national rugby union team represents Tonga in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a traditional piece of performance art – 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 traditional culture of Samoa is a communal way of life based on Fa'a Samoa, the unique socio-political culture. In Samoan culture, most activities are done together. The traditional living quarters, or fale (houses), contain no walls and up to 20 people may sleep on the ground in the same fale. During the day, the fale is used for chatting and relaxing. One's family is viewed as an integral part of a person's life. The aiga or extended family lives and works together. Elders in the family are greatly respected and hold the highest status, and this may be seen at a traditional Sunday umu.
Afa Amituana'i "Arthur" Anoa'i is a Samoan-American retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager. Since retiring, he has operated the World Xtreme Wrestling promotion and trained wrestlers at the Wild Samoan Training Center.
Samuel Larry Anoa'i Fatu is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names The Tonga Kid and Tama and with World Championship Wrestling as The Samoan Savage.
Rugby Samoa is the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Samoa. Founded as the Apia Rugby Union in 1924, it was affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Football Union the same year. It joined the International Rugby Board as the Western Samoa Rugby Football Union in 1988. In 1997, when Western Samoa amended its constitution to change the country's name from Western Samoa to Samoa, the union also changed its name, and dropped the word football to become the Samoa Rugby Union. In November 2020, they changed their name to Lakapi Samoa which is Samoan for Rugby Samoa. They were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga. The union is also a member of the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU).
Lome Fa'atau is a rugby union player. The speedy winger is recognisable by his traditional Samoan tattoo (pe'a). Before his rugby career took off, he attended St. Patrick's College in Wellington, where he was a star basketball player for his college team. It was not until he left college did he begin playing rugby union for the local club Marist St. Pat's, where he made his debut in the third grade division at fullback.
The Samoan national Australian rules football team, nicknamed the Kangaroos, represents Samoa in the team sport of Australian rules football. The team is selected from the best Samoan born players, who are currently mostly players from the Samoa Australian Rules Football Association.
The Anoaʻi family is a family of professional wrestlers originating from American Samoa. Family members have comprised several tag teams and stables within a variety of promotions. Famous members of the family include WWE Hall of Famers Rikishi, Yokozuna, and brothers the Wild Samoans. Other notable members include Roman Reigns, The Usos, Umaga, Rosey, and Solo Sikoa.
Haka, traditional dances of the Māori people, have been used in sports in New Zealand and overseas. Haka are performed to challenge opponents before matches. The dance form has been adopted by the New Zealand national rugby union team, the "All Blacks", and a number of other New Zealand national teams perform before their international matches; some non-New Zealand sports teams have also adopted haka.
Enele "Henry" Tuilagi is a Samoan former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He appeared ten times for his national team Samoa and played club rugby in Italy, France and England.
Alesana "Alex" Tuilagi is a former Samoan rugby player. He is a retired footballer, currently residing in Fogapoa Savaii and has appeared numerous times for his national team Samoa. He previously played for Parma in Italy and for Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership and more recently Newcastle Falcons. As an incredibly strong player, Tuilagi uses his blend of pace and power to good effect, proving a nightmare for many defences. Such a combination of speed and strength makes him very difficult for defences to handle.
This is a history of the Tonga national rugby league team.
Apia Park is a multi-function sports complex located in Apia, the capital of Samoa. Primarily used for rugby union events, Apia Park is the home stadium of the Samoa national rugby union team, Manu Samoa. It is also a venue for association football. Manuma Samoa use the venue for rugby union matches.
Rugby union is the national sport in Tonga. 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.
The Samoa women's national rugby union team is a national sporting side of Samoa, representing the nation at rugby union. The side first played in 2000.
"Olé, Olé, Olé" is a chant used in sport. The chant is based on the Spanish interjection "Olé" used to signify approval by the spectators in bullfighting; however, the chant is not used in Spain. The popular version of the "Olé, Olé, Olé" chant was first used in a 1985 song written by the Belgians Roland Verlooven and Grand Jojo called "Anderlecht Champion" as "Allez, Allez, Allez, Allez" in French, but became "Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé" in Spanish in a version titled "E Viva Mexico" created for the Mexico 86 World Cup. This version of the chant quickly spread around the world and chanted by football fans in tribute to a team or a player, and it is now also widely used in other sports as well as in non-sporting events.
Filipo Levi is the former International Rugby Captain for Manu Samoa and has captained teams from a local and international stage since 2000 until 2013. Filipo experience and knowledge is understanding business leaders unique challenges from a local to international context. He is passionate in helping leaders build strong resilient teams and equipping, empowering people to overcome challenges.
Leo Lafaiali'i is a Samoan rugby union footballer.
The Usos are an American professional wrestling tag team composed of twin brothers Joshua Samuel Fatu and Jonathan Solofa Fatu, who are known professionally by their respective ring names, Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso. They are currently signed to WWE, where they perform on the SmackDown brand and are the current Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions, holding both the Raw Tag Team Championship in their third reign and the SmackDown Tag Team Championship in their fifth reign, which is the longest reign for the latter at 607+ days and the longest tag team title reign in WWE history. They are also part of a stable called The Bloodline which is led by their real life cousin, Roman Reigns, and also includes their younger brother, Solo Sikoa, with all being members of the renowned Anoa'i family of Samoan wrestlers.
