The Samoa national rugby union team (also known as Manu Samoa) represents

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 Island, Manono an ...

in men's international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

and it is governed by the

Samoa Rugby Union Rugby Samoa ( sm, Lakapi 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.Jones, p10 It joined the Internationa ...

. 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 __NOTOC__ The Manu Siva Tau is a Samoan war dance, performed by the Samoan sporting teams before each match. The national rugby union team used to perform the traditional 'Maulu'ulu Moa' on tour. Prior to the 1991 World Cup, the 'Manu' war cha ...

before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the

Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance The Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) was set up in 2002 as a basis of co-operation between the Fiji, Samoa and Tonga Rugby Unions. Niue and the Cook Islands also became members of the Alliance and supplied players to the Pacific Islanders ...

(PIRA) along with

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. They are ranked 11th in the world. Rugby was introduced to Samoa in the early 1920s and a

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

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 The Pacific Tri-Nations was the traditional rugby union series between Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. It was established in 1982 with the Samoan team, then known as Western Samoa, winning the tournament. In 2006 it was replaced by the IRB Pacific 5 Nation ...

– 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 The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

since the 1991 tournament. That tournament, along with the 1995 competition, saw them make the quarter-finals. Under their new coach, former

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and Samoan international player Michael Jones, Samoa competed in the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 2 ...

. 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 The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

, winning two matches by comfortable margins, and losing close matches to South Africa and Wales.

History

The

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brother ...

brought the game of rugby to Western Samoa in 1924 and The Western Samoa Rugby Football Union was formed in 1924. On 18 August 1924, Western Samoa played its first international against

in the capital

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

, the visitors winning 6–0. The match was played at 7am to allow the Samoans time to get to work afterwards and was played on a pitch with a large tree on the halfway line. The return match was won 9–3 by Samoa to draw the series. In 1954 Western Samoa visited both Pacific Island neighbors Fiji and Tonga, but had to wait a further 20 years before a tour of New Zealand took place. The Samoans won one of eight matches on that tour. The traditional tri-series between

and Western Samoa was established in 1982 with Western Samoa winning the first tournament.

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

visited Western Samoa and won the test 32–16 at Apia. The tour led to a return visit to Wales which brought Western Samoa out of International limbo, although Western Samoa were not invited to the first

in 1987. The following year a 14-match tour of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

took place before a World Cup elimination series in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, which gave Western Samoa a place in the

1991 Rugby World Cup The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

. They made a huge impact. After sweeping aside Wales 16–13 in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and defeating

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

35–12, and narrowly losing 3–9 to eventual champions

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in their pool match, Western Samoa, a country with a population of 160,000, found itself in the quarterfinals against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often conside ...

. The Scots won comfortably 28–6, but the Samoans were clearly the personality team of the tournament. One Welsh fan ruefully remarked after Wales's defeat, "It's a good job we weren't playing all of Samoa." Over the next two years the side had a number of notable wins. The most outstanding achievement were in Sevens where it won the 1993

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and 1992

Middlesex Sevens The Middlesex Sevens was a Rugby Sevens tournament held annually at Twickenham stadium in London, England until 2011. It was first held in 1926, and started by Dr J.A. Russell-Cargill, a London-based Scot.Bath, ''Scotland Rugby Miscellany'', p82 Th ...

. The

1995 Rugby World Cup The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country. The World Cup was the first major sporting event to take place in Sou ...

gin

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

proved that the team belonged in top company. They again reached the quarterfinals after wins over Argentina and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, but were beaten 42–14 by the eventual winners

. After the Cup, Manu Samoa made a 13-match tour of England and Scotland, drawing 15–15 with the Scots and going down 27–9 to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. With the advent of professional rugby in 1995 it was vital for Manu Samoa to develop a new administrative structure. This was made possible with

Fay Richwhite Fay, Richwhite & Company is the investment vehicle of Switzerland-based New Zealand merchant bankers Sir Michael Fay and David Richwhite. The firm was the prime focus of the "Winebox Inquiry" which dealt with, among other things, tax-avoidance ...

and the Western Samoan Rugby Union joining forces to form Manu Samoa Rugby Limited.

invested $5 million from 1995 to 2004 into Samoan rugby. Japan vs Samoa Rugby Matc 17 June 2012

Samoa emerged from the 1999 World Cup with its honor intact after another shock 38–31 victory over host nation

in the pool stages. They again lost out to Scotland in the quarter final play-off. Manu Samoa qualified for the 2003 World Cup with a 17–16 loss against Fiji,

Earl Va'a Earl Va'a (born 1 May 1972)
Scrum.com is a former

Nadi Nadi (pronounced ) is the third-largest conurbation in Fiji. It is located on the western side of the main island of Viti Levu, and had a population of 42,284 at the most recent census, in 2007. A 2012 estimate showed that the population had ...

. They ultimately had to settle for second place in the round robin, behind Fiji on points difference, and a place in the tougher of the two Rugby World Cup 2003 pools alongside automatic qualifiers England and South Africa. In one of the games of the tournament, they led eventual champions England for most of the game before losing 35–22. Samoa qualified for the 2011 World Cup after beating

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

73–12 in

Port Moresby (; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New Z ...

on 18 July 2009. They won 188–19 on aggregate over two matches against Papua New Guinea, having won 115–7 at

Apia Park 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 footbal ...

the previous week. Samoa began their 2011 World Cup campaign preparation with a flying start, after registering an upset against No.2 ranked

with a four-try-to-two win of 32–23.

Financial problems

In November 2017, Samoa's prime minister and SRU chairman Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi announced that the organisation was bankrupt, although those claims were denied by world governing body

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

World Cup record

In one of the scenes of the feature film, ''

Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...

'', Western Samoa can be seen playing South Africa in the

Wins against Tier 1 nations

In addition, Samoa drew with Scotland 15-15 on the 18 November 1995 at

Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium (known as BT Murrayfield Stadium for sponsorship reasons, or popularly as Murrayfield) is a Rugby stadium located in the Murrayfield area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It has a seating capacity of 67,144 making it the largest sta ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland.

Overall record

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Samoa national XV at test level up until 26 October 2021.

Players

Current squad

On 5 October 2022, the following 31 players were called up for the Northern Hemisphere Tour 2022. Head Coach:

Seilala Mapusua Vaovasamanaia Seilala Mapusua (born 27 February 1980) is a retired Samoan rugby player who last played for the Kubota Spears of the Japanese Top League. Prior to his move to Japan in 2011, he also had long stints with the Highlanders in Super Ru ...

* Caps Updated: 5 November 2021

Player records