Samoa national rugby league team

The Samoa national rugby league team represents Samoa in rugby league football and has participated in international competition since 1986. Known as Western Samoa before 1997, the team is administered by Rugby League Samoa and are nicknamed Toa Samoa (English: ''Samoan Warriors'').

Current roster

The Samoa national team for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.

History

Western Samoa has participated in the Pacific Cup World Nines (1996, 1997), World Cup (since 1995) and Pacific Rim (2004) competitions.

Early years

Western Samoa made their debut in the 1986 Pacific Cup. Joe Raymond coached this side to a final where they went down to a strong NZ Maori side. Joe Raymond went on to coach them again in 1988 and would return again to coach them 10 years later in 1998 in a one-off game against a Samoan team of Samoan resident players at Carlaw park.

William John "Swanny" Stowers and his wife Lyndsay Stowers operated Samoa Rugby League out of their North Shore home in Auckland and from the Richmond Rugby League Club house where Lyndsay ran the canteen. This resilient couple were known to have put a mortgage on their home to assist with funding the thirty (30) men representing Samoa in the Pacific Cup held in Tonga, 1990. This commitment lead to a historical win over the Maori team for the first time and a win in the 1990 Pacific Cup. Coached by the Richmond Bulldogs Head Coach, Steve Aigai.

Samoa then won the 1992 Pacific Cup over Tonga in an action filled thriller that went into two (2) overtimes and sent the NZ Rugby League and Polynesian rugby league public into a frenzy. The 1992 Tournament showcased all of NZ Rugby league talent and Australian Rugby league scouts were already booked to witness the 1994 Pacific Cup held in Fiji.

In 1993 Western Samoa were invited to the International Coca-Cola Sevens in Sydney. With Auckland based Samoan players such as Mark Elia, Tony Tuimavave, Tony Tatupu, Faausu Afoa and Des Maea followed by a group of up and coming players such as Matthew FuaSamoa, Lionel Perera, Aleki Maea, Paki Tuimavave, Joe Vagana, Sefo Fuimaono and Peter Lima, the team beat the Canberra Raiders and the Great Britain International team. Coached by the Richmond Bulldogs' Head Coach Steve Aigai, this team gave Samoa the status to create the strong foundation Western Samoa Rugby League needed to move forward. Below this strong foundation however was the strength and commitment of two people: Swanny and Lyndsay Stowers. These two held together the concept of Samoa Rugby League and without their dream, Samoa RL will not be where it is today.

Steve Aigai in his sixth year as the Samoan Coach had an array of NZ based quality players for the 1994 Pacific Cup with the likes of Se'e Solomona, Tony Tatupu, the Tuimavave brothers Paki and Tony plus the loyal players of Mike Setefano, Matthew FuaSamoa, Alex Tupou and Mark Faumuina. Henry Suluvale and Rudy David led the contingent of first class players from Canterbury however this arsenal were well contained by the Tongan stars Jim Dymock, John Hopoate, Solomon Haumono and Albert Fulivai.

Late 1990s

The 1995 Samoan team had the benefit of ex-All Blacks John Schuster and Va'aiga Tuigamala in their backline. When rugby union went openly professional players such as Apollo Perelini and Fereti Tuilagi left rugby league to return to the 15-man game.

Samoa lost the Pacific Cup in 1996.

The 1998 Pacific Cup team saw a new and old talent. Joe Raymond, one of the first Samoan Rugby League Rep coaches returned after coaching Tonga and the NZ Maori, the late Eddie Poching managed the team and the introduction of Francis Meli to Samoan Rugby League and Junior Papalii a loyal American Samoan Representative. Pati Tuimavave from the 1992 squad and Matthew TuiSamoa, the only survivor from 1990 Pacific Cup champion team returned. Samoa battled Tonga for the 1998 Pacific Cup again at Carlaw park and again Samoa regained the Pacific Champions Title.

2000s

The Pacific Cup was taken to Australia's Gold Coast in 2000 where Auckland coach John Ackland took over the reins. Ackland added another dimension to Samoa Rugby League in selecting rising stars Itikeri Samani a Canberra and Goulburn Stockmen Junior who previously represented American Samoa and Wayne McDade from the New Zealand Warriors while bringing back Matthew FuaSamoa into the Pacific Cup arena.

2000 Rugby League World Cup campaign

Samoa took on Ireland, Scotland, and the Aotearoa Māori in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup pool stages. They would lose to 'the Irish' in their opening game, but they'd beat NZ Maori, and Scotland in their next two games, sealing a place in the knock-out stages. They would take on Australia in the quarter-final. Unfortunately, they ended their tournament with a thrashing 66–10 defeat (their biggest defeat up to date), sealing an end to a respectable World Cup Campaign.

2008 Rugby League World Cup campaign

Samoa played in the Pacific Pool of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers. They beat the Cook Islands and Fiji, but lost to Tonga. On a points difference, Samoa came in third and had to play USA in the Repecharge Semi Final. Samoa won this match 42–10 and then played Lebanon on 14 November 2007 in the Repecharge Final to see who would take the 10th and final World Cup place. Samoa came out eventual winners of the 10th and final 2008 Rugby League World Cup place beating Lebanon 38–16 at the Chris Moyles Stadium, Featherstone.

For the 2008 Rugby League World Cup tournament Samoa's main jersey sponsor was the Samoa International Finance Authority.

Samoa took on Tonga and Ireland in the Tournament's pool stages. They beat their Pacific rivals 20–12, but they then lost to the Irish by 34–16. This big losing margin, sent the Samoans into battle against the French in the Tournament's 9th place play-off. Samoa easily won, winning 42–10 and capping off an undesirable World Cup Tournament.

2013 Pacific Rugby League Test

In April 2013, Samoa took on Tonga in the '2013 Pacific Rugby League Test' at Penrith Stadium. The International was created as a World Cup warm-up match. Tonga targeted Samoa's weak defence, and it paid off, thrashing the Toa Samoans by 36–4.

Matt Parish era (2013– Present )

Australian Matt Parish was appointed head coach ahead of the 2013 World Cup. In the group stage, Samoa lost to 42–24, and defeated 38–4 and 22–6. They lost the quarter-final to 22–4.

In May 2014, Samoa defeated 32–16 in a one-off Test match to qualify for the 2014 Four Nations. In the Four Nations, Samoa was the fourth nation and the underdogs against rugby league's three big heavyweight nations England, New Zealand and Australia. But they proved that they were anything but underdogs, losing to England by six points in a sea-sawing battle, and they were within four minutes of creating rugby league history by beating New Zealand. By the final round, Samoa still had a chance to qualify for the final, making this Four Nations the toughest ever. This Samoan performance added credential to the rugby league game showing that the game is not all about the big three. An annual series against was proposed to run likewise to Australia's State of Origin series.

In May 2015, Samoa took on Tonga. The game was an absolute thriller with the lead alternating between the teams and the biggest margin throughout the match was only 6 points. Samoa won 18–16. The following year, in May 2016, Samoa defeated Tonga 18–12.

Samoa were winless at the 2017 World Cup, losing 38–8 to and 32–18 , and drawing 14–14 with . However, due to the tournament structure, they advanced to the knock-out stage thanks to the draw. In the quarter-final, Samoa lost 46–0 to defending champions . Former rugby league players Reni Maitua and Willie Mason were heavily critical of the team after the tournament, claiming the players were staying up late at night and had no respect for coach Matt Parish.

In February 2021, it was reported that 34 current and former Samoan players had co-signed a letter to Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi requesting for Parish to be removed as coach, citing a lack of professionalism and success. Parish responded by claiming the players were coerced to sign the letter. In May 2021, Andrew Johns, Matthew Johns and Sonny Bill Williams voiced interest to jointly coach Samoa at the 2021 World Cup. Rugby League Samoa affirmed Parish would remain as head coach for the tournament in a statement. NRL.com noted that Samoa has approximately 85 NRL players to choose from in 2021, more than is available for the successful n (60) and an (40) teams, however, according to reports, there are some players not willing to represent Samoa under the current coaching set-up.

In October 2022, Samoa opened the Rugby League World Cup 2021 against host nation England, despite high expectations for Samoa, due to high profile players such as Penrith Panthers premiership winning trio Jarome Luai, Brian To'o, and Stephen Crichton pledging allegiance to Samoa over Australia, Samoa went on tho lose the match in embarrassing fashion, 60-6.

Samoa rebounded from the loss in the competition opener with big wins over Greece and France, 72-4 and 62-4 respectively.

Samoa qualified for the finals, coming second place in their pool behind England, and went on to face rivals Mate Ma'a Tonga in the quarter finals. Samoa would go on to win the match despite a late resurgence from Tonga to win 20-18, qualifying for their first ever world cup semi final.

Samoa would face England in the semi final, who they lost their first match against. In a back and forth encounter, the scores were tied at 20-20 with less than 8 minutes to go in the match but Stephen Crichton would intercept a pass from Victor Radley running more than 60 metres to score a try to put Samoa ahead. Several minutes later, with just 3 minutes left in the match, England halfback George Williams broke Samoas defence and passed to Herbie Farnworth who would complete a 90 metre long try, taking the score to 26-24. Tommy Makinson would then kick the conversion to tie the match. With the scores tied at 26-26, the match went to Golden Point, with England receiving the ball first. Jack Welsby made an error giving Samoa the ball, which would lead to an Anthony Milford field goal attempt but missed. England received the ball again but a Sam Tomkins error would give the ball back to Samoa once again and Stephen Chrichton kicked the field goal to win the match, 27-26. Sending Samoa to their first ever World Cup final against Australia, and just the fifth team to qualify for the final. (Great Britain, England, France, New Zealand)

Competitive Record

All-time record

Below is the head-to-head record for the Samoa as of 24 December 2020.

World Cup

Four Nations

Pacific Cup

Notable players and coaches

* John Ackland (World Cup 2008 Coach)
* Steve Kaiser Coach 1990–1994
* Steve Kaiser 1986
* Afi Ah Kuoi 1986
* Andrew Ah Kuoi 1986
* George Apelu 1986
* Fa'ausu Afoa circa-1995
* Wing Afoa 1990–1994
* Isaak Ah Mau circa-2006
* Leeson Ah Mau 2013-17
* Roy Asotasi circa-2013
* Monty Betham circa-2000
* George Carmont circa-2008
* Victors Charles Charlie circa-2008
* Mark Elia circa-1995
* Henry Fa'afili circa-2000
* David Faiumu circa-2008
* Max Fala circa-2000
* Maika Felise circa-2000
* Beau Gallagher circa-2000
* Joe Galuvao circa-2000
* Simon Geros circa-2000
* Harrison Hansen circa-2008
* Sam Kasiano circa-2015
* Lolani Koko circa-1995
* Vae Kololo circa-2000
* Shane Laloata circa-2000
* Ali Lauiti'iti circa-2008
* Brian Laumatia circa-1995
* Mark Leafa circa-2000
* Brian Leauma circa-2000
* Tuaalagi Lepupa circa-2008
* Kylie Leuluai circa-2008
* Danny Lima circa-2006
* Jeff Lima circa-2006
* Jamahl Lolesi circa-2000
* Graham Lowe (World Cup 1995 coach)
* Chan Ly circa-2006
* Des Maea circa-1995
* Hutch Maiava circa-2006
* Gus Maietoa-Brown circa-1995
* Vila Matautia circa-1995
* Rusty Matua 1990
* Chris Magele 1998–2000
* Wayne McDade circa-2008
* Robert Moimoi 1986
* Francis Meli circa-2000/2008
* Laloa Milford circa-2000
* Paul Okesene 1986
* Lafu Papalii 1986–1990
* Junior Purcell 1998
* Sam Panapa circa-1995
* Matt Parish (World Cup 2013 coach) & (World Cup 2017 coach) & (World Cup 2021/22 coach)
* Joseph Paulo circa-2008
* Apollo Perelini circa-1995
* Fred Petersen circa-2000
* Robert Piva circa-1995
* Willie Poching circa-1995/2000 (World Cup 2000 Captain)
* Steve Price Coach 2010–2013
* Frank Pritchard circa-2014/2017 (World Cup 2017 Captain)
* Frank Puletua circa-2000/2008
* Tony Puletua circa-2008/2013
* Ben Roberts circa-2008/2013/2014
* Tangi Ropati circa-2008
* Tea Ropati circa-1995
* Smith Samau circa-2008
* Itikeri Samani circa-2008
* John Schuster circa-1995 (World Cup 1995 Captain)
* Mike Setefano circa-1995
* Dave Sefuufa 1986
* Lagi Setu circa-2008
* Jerry Seu Seu circa-2000
* Terrence Seu Seu circa-2008
* Iosia Soliola circa-2013 (World Cup 2013 Captain)
* David Solomona circa-2000/2008
* Malo Solomona circa-2006
* Se'e Solomona circa-1995
* Fou Solomona 1986
* Miguel Start circa-2006
* Shannon Stowers circa-2006
* Henry Suluvale circa-1995
* Anthony Swann circa-2000
* Willie Swann circa-1995/2000
* Keneti Taogaga 1986–1990
* Willie Talau circa-2008
* Albert "Alby" Talipeau circa-2000/2008
* Tony Tatupu circa-1995/2000
* McConkie Tauasa circa-2006
* Misi Taulapapa circa-2008
* Ben Te'o circa-2008
* Junior Tia-Kilifi circa-2006
* Alex Tupou 1990–1994
* Va'aiga Tuigamala circa-1995
* Paddy Tuimavave circa-1992
* Paki Tuimavave circa-1990s
* Tony Tuimavave 1990–1995
* Matthew TuiSamoa 1990–2000
* Tupu Ulufale circa-2008
* Matt Utai circa-2008
* Earl Va'a