This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Samoa women's national rugby union team.
Samoa
Nickname(s)
Manu Samoa
Emblem
Southern cross
Union
Rugby Samoa
Head coach
Mahonri Schwalger
Captain
Michael Ala'alatoa
Most caps
Brian Lima (67)
Top scorer
Tusi Pisi (245)
Top try scorer
Brian Lima (29)
Home stadium
Apia Park
First colours
Second colours
World Rugby ranking
Current
12 (as of 28 August 2023)
Highest
7 (2012, 2013)
Lowest
17 (2018, 2019)
First international
Western Samoa 0–6 Fiji (Apia, Samoa; 18 August 1924)
Biggest win
Samoa 115–7 Papua New Guinea (Apia, Samoa; 11 July 2009)
Biggest defeat
New Zealand 101–14 Samoa (New Plymouth, New Zealand; 3 September 2008)
World Cup
Appearances
9 (First in 1991)
Best result
Quarterfinals (1991, 1995)
Medal record
Pacific Games
1971 Papeete
1991 Port Moresby
1983 Apia
1963 Suva
Website
manusamoa.com
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.[1] 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.[2] They are ranked 11th in the world.[3]
Rugby was introduced to Samoa in the early 1920s and a governing body was soon formed. The first international was played as Western Samoa against Fiji in August 1924. Along with Tonga, these nations would meet regularly and eventually contest competitions such as the Pacific Tri-Nations – with Western Samoa winning the first of these. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was known as Western Samoa.
Samoa have been to every Rugby World Cup since the 1991 tournament. That tournament, along with the 1995 competition, saw them make the quarterfinals. Under their new coach, former New Zealand and Samoan international player Michael Jones, Samoa competed in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. However, Samoa had a dismal World Cup campaign, winning only one match and finishing fourth in their group. Samoa showed an improved performance at the 2011 Rugby World Cup, winning two matches by comfortable margins, and losing close matches to South Africa and Wales.
^"MANU SAMOA | Meaning & Definition for UK English | Lexico.com". Lexico Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
^We quit: SRU Samoa Observer
^"World Rugby Rankings". World Rugby.
and 25 Related for: Samoa national rugby union team information
The Samoanationalrugby league team represents Samoa in rugby league football and has participated in international competition since 1986. Known as Western...
American Samoanationalrugbyunionteam, also known as the "Talavalu", represents the American SamoaRugbyUnion in international rugbyunion. As of September...
The Samoanationalrugby sevens team, referred to as Samoa Sevens or Manu Samoa 7s, competes in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series. Representing the...
RugbySamoa (Samoan: Lakapi Samoa) is the governing body of the sport of rugbyunion in Samoa. Founded as the Apia RugbyUnion in 1924, it was affiliated...
Rugbyunion in Samoa is the country's most popular sport. The nationalteams in both the standard 15-man game and rugby sevens are consistently competitive...
The South Africa nationalrugbyunionteam (Afrikaans: Suid-Afrikaanse nasionale rugbyspan) commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke...
The Namibia nationalrugbyunionteam represents Namibia in men's international rugbyunion competitions nicknamed the Welwitschias, are a tier-two nation...
Rugbyunion in American Samoa is a growing sport. The governing body is the American SamoaRugbyUnion (ASRU), which is a full member of both the Federation...
The American SamoaRugbyUnion, or ASRU, is the governing body for rugbyunion in American Samoa. It was established in 1990, and became fully affiliated...
Islanders was a combined international rugbyunionteam that played from 2004 to 2008. It represented Fiji, Samoa and Tonga; Niue and the Cook Islands also...
The Australia nationalrugbyunionteam, nicknamed the Wallabies, is the representative nationalteam in the sport of rugbyunion for the nation of Australia...
The England men's nationalrugbyunionteam represents the Rugby Football Union in men's international rugbyunion. They compete in the annual Six Nations...
The Philippines nationalrugbyunionteam, nicknamed the "Volcanoes", represents the Philippines in international rugbyunion. The Philippines have been...
Argentina nationalrugbyunionteam (Spanish: Selección de rugby de Argentina) represents Argentina in men's international competitions, The Argentine Rugby Union...
Samoa rules is a game derived from Australian rules football and rugbyunion that is occasionally played in Samoa. Generally the rules are taken from...
Global Information
Western Samoa 0–6 Fiji 
Samoa 115–7 Papua New Guinea 
New Zealand 101–14 Samoa 
