Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua (born 27 February 1980) is a retired

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

n rugby player who last played for the

Kubota Spears Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay (commonly known as the Kubota Spears) is a Japanese rugby union team based in Funabashi, Chiba participating in the Japan Rugby League One. The team rebranded as Kubota Spears Funabashi Tokyo Bay ahead of the rebr ...

of the Japanese

Top League Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...

. Prior to his move to Japan in 2011, he also had long stints with the Highlanders in Super Rugby and

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

in the Aviva Premiership. He is currently the head coach of Manu Samoa having been appointed in 2020.

Playing career

New Zealand

Mapusua was born in Moto’otua, Samoa, but grew up in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, New Zealand and attended school at Wesley College in Auckland moving south to join Otago for the 2000 provincial season. His strong performances for Otago saw him earn a contract with the Highlanders for the

2002 Super 12 season The 2002 Super 12 season was the seventh season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 2002, with each team playing all the others once. At the end of the regular seas ...

and he remained a fixture for both Otago and the Highlanders through 2006. By the time he left New Zealand he was only the fifth back to have played more than 50 games for the Highlanders.

England

Mapusua joined

for the 2006–07 Guinness Premiership, and immediately established himself as a top player for the side, scoring 4 tries in 22 matches. He was named the team's top newcomer for his efforts. In 2008–09, he would have a towering season for London Irish, scoring 9 tries in 27 matches in all competitions and leading the club to the Premiership final. At the conclusion of the season he was named the PRA Players' Player of the Season. He continued as a regular starter through 2011, and by the conclusion of his stay in London had played 125 games with the side including 91 Premiership matches and 23 Heineken Cup contests.

Japan

In January 2011, Mapusua announced that he was signing in Japan with the

for the 2011–12 season.

International Play

Mapusua made his debut for

against Japan on 17 June 2006 and represented Samoa in the 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cup. He has also been selected to the touring

Pacific Islanders Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oce ...

on three occasions. Both of his test tries have come against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

at the Millennium Stadium - for the Pacific Islanders on 11 November 2006, and for Samoa on 13 November 2009.

Coaching

Mapusua retired from rugby in 2016. After returning to New Zealand he worked as a Coaching Development Officer for Otago Rugby. In August 2020 Mapusua was appointed coach of Manu Samoa. In December 2020 he was granted the title of Vaovasamanaia.

References

External links