Samoa national rugby sevens team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Samoa women's national rugby sevens team.

Samoa
Logo Samoa Rugby.svg
UnionSamoa Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)Manu Samoa
Coach(es)Brian Lima
Captain(s)Alatasi Tupou
Most capsUale Mai (359 matches)
Top scorerUale Mai (1,320)
Most triesMikaele Pesamino (161)
Team kit
World Cup Sevens
Appearances6 (First in 1993)
Best result3rd place, 1997, 2009 champions 2010

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 180,000, 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.

History[]

The first Samoan sevens team was selected in November 1978 to play at the invitation Hong Kong Sevens 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, Andy Leavasa (USA), Salafuti Patu and others. Samoa won the 1993 Hong Kong Sevens.

Uganda v Samoa (20 March 2006)

Tournament history[]

Summer Olympics[]

Olympic Games record
Year Round Position Pld W L D Qualifying
Brazil 2016 Did Not Qualify Lost 12–19 to Spain in the final of the inter-continental qualifying tournament.
Total 0 Titles 0/1 - - - - -

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.

Rugby World Cup Sevens[]

At the 1993 Rugby World Cup, Samoa player was arrested at the team hotel and charged with assault and battery after allegedly punching Welsh players after their match, resulting in broken facial bones to Welsh player Tom Williams, who had scored the winning try.[5] Langkilde pled guilty to misdemeanor charges, paid a fine, and was suspended from rugby for one year.[6]

Rugby World Cup Sevens Record
Year Round Position Games Won Lost Drew Most tries Most points
Scotland 1993 Quarterfinals 5th 8 6 2 0
Hong Kong 1997 Semifinals 3rd 6 5 1 0
Argentina 2001 Quarterfinals 5th 6 4 2 0
Hong Kong 2005 Plate finals 9th 8 7 1 0
United Arab Emirates 2009 Semifinals 3rd 5 4 1 0
Russia 2013 Plate finals 10th 6 4 2 0
United States 2018 Challenge quarterfinals 13th 5 3 2 0 Joe Perez (4) Alatasi Tupou (24)
Total Two bronze medals 39 30 9 0 Brian Lima (17) Brian Lima (101)

Commonwealth Games[]

Commonwealth record
Year Round Position Pld W L D
Malaysia 1998 Semifinalists 4th 7 4 2 1
England 2002 Semifinalists 4th 6 2 4 0
Australia 2006 Plate Semifinalists 7th 5 2 3 0
India 2010 Plate Winners 5th 6 4 2 0
Scotland 2014 Semifinalists 4th 6 4 2 0
Australia 2018 Group stage 9th-T 3 1 2 0
Total Three fourth-place finishes 30 16 13 1

World Rugby Sevens Series[]

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.

2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series[]

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.[citation needed] 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[7]
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[8]
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

Sevens Series tournament Cup wins[]

Event Venue Winner Score Runner-up
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
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
Hong Kong Stadium Western Samoa 14–12 Fiji
Twickenham Stadium Western Samoa ??–?? London Scottish

In July 1997, the Government of Samoa changed the country's name from Western Samoa to Samoa.[9]

Team[]

Current squad[]

For a complete list of players in the current World Series, see 2018–19 World Rugby Sevens Series squads § Samoa.

Former squads[]

Samoa team to the 2015 Pacific Games
Samoa team to the 2014 Commonwealth Games

Notable former players[]

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.[12]

Crowd at the 2009 Hong Kong Sevens.

Player records[]

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.

Most tries[13]
Rank Player Tries
1 Mikaele Pesamino 161
2 Uale Mai 142
3 Alafoti Faosiliva 127
4 Alatasi Tupou 96
5 Samoa Toloa 93

Coaches[]

The current coach is Brian Lima, former player of the Samoa national rugby sevens team.

Past coaches include:

  • coached the 1993 Hong Kong Sevens winning team.
  • Fuimaono Titimaea "Dicky" Tafua coached the team on the 2005-2006 IRB Sevens Circuit where they qualified to two finals ( the London Sevens, where they lost to South Africa, and the Paris Sevens where they lost to Fiji). Fuimaono resigned from coaching in 2007 to his new post as Secretary to Samoa's Head of State, Tupua Tamasese Tufuga Efi.
  • Damian McGrath won a Cup in Paris was sacked by the SRU controversially.
  • took over as coach, but after a disappointing team performance in the 2008–09 Series he was temporarily replaced by Lilomaiava Taufusi Salesa for the final two legs of the series.
  • Stephen Betham was named as Moors' successor in 2009.

Other statistics[]

Year Host Cup Final Plate Final
Winner Score Runner-up Winner Score Runner-up
2009
Details
New Zealand 		24-12
Samoa
Australia 		7-0
South Africa
2008
Details
South Africa 		19-12
England
Samoa 		12-7
Kenya
2004
England 		26 - 21
Fiji
Samoa 		21 - 19
Argentina
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2010
Details 		Westpac Stadium
Fiji 		19-14
Samoa
Australia 		26-22
South Africa
2008
Details 		Westpac Stadium
New Zealand 		22-7
Samoa
South Africa 		19-12
Wales
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2007[14]
Details 		Petco Park
Fiji 		38 - 24
Samoa
South Africa 		28 - 19
Scotland
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2005
 Outeniqua Park
Fiji 		21 - 19
Argentina
Samoa 		17 - 5
New Zealand
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2007
Details 		Adelaide Oval
Fiji 		21-7
Samoa
Australia 		31-0
South Africa
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2007
Details 		Murrayfield
New Zealand 		34-5
Samoa
Fiji 		31-7
Kenya
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2006
 Stade Jean-Bouin
South Africa 		33-12
Samoa
Fiji 		31-12
Argentina
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2006
 National Stadium, Singapore
Fiji 		40-21
England
Samoa 		26-5
France
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2006
 Twickenham
Fiji 		54-14
Samoa
South Africa 		42-7
Kenya
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
1998
 Hong Kong Stadium
Fiji 		28-19
Western Samoa
South Korea 		40–14
Papua New Guinea
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
1979
 HK Football Club Stadium
Australia 		39-3
Western Samoa
Papua New Guinea 		13-10

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Hunter, Russell (22 March 2010). "A breathtaking achievement". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  2. ^ "International Rugby Board, Retrieved 31 May 2010". Archived from the original on 31 March 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  3. ^ "Samoa win Hong Kong Sevens". Times LIVE. 28 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  4. ^ "Superb Samoa wins Adelaide Sevens". International Rugby Board. 21 March 2010. Archived from the original on 24 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  5. ^ "Sport: Samoa Sevens player Gordon Langkilde's hearing deferred until next week", Radio NZ, 16 August 2018.
  6. ^ "Samoa sevens player Gordon Langkilde pleads guilty to misdemeanours", Samoa News, 20 September 2018.
  7. ^ "2009/10 IRB Sevens World Series schedule set" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 8 July 2009. Archived from the original on 11 July 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2009.
  8. ^ "Overall Standings". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 28 March 2010.
  9. ^ "Constitution Amendment Act (No 2) 1997". Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  10. ^ pg2015.gems.pro (9 July 2015). "2015 Pacific Games Men's 7s" (PDF). Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  11. ^ IRB (16 July 2014). "Commonwealth Games Sevens squads: Latest". Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  12. ^ "NZ sevens players miss awards list". Television NZ. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  13. ^ World Rugby website, current as of 15 March 2020
  14. ^ Official 2007 Results[permanent dead link]

External links[]

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