Samoa national rugby union team

Samoa

NicknameTemplate:Pluralize from text	Manu Samoa
Emblem	Southern cross
Union	Rugby Samoa
Head coach	Tusi Pisi
Captain	Theo McFarland
Most caps	Brian Lima (67)
Top scorer	Tusi Pisi (245)
Top try scorer	Brian Lima (29)
Home stadium	Apia Park
File:Kit left arm.svg File:Kit body.svg File:Kit right arm.svg File:Kit shorts.svg File:Kit socks long.svg First colours Template:Preview warningTemplate:Preview warningTemplate:Preview warningTemplate:Preview warning File:Kit left arm.svg File:Kit body.svg File:Kit right arm.svg File:Kit shorts.svg File:Kit socks long.svg Second colours Template:Preview warningTemplate:Preview warningTemplate:Preview warningTemplate:Preview warning
World Rugby ranking
Current	19 (as of 1 January 2026)
Highest	7 (2012, 2013)
Lowest	19 (2025, 2026)
First international
Template:Flagicon 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 Gold medal – first place 1971 Papeete Gold medal – first place 1991 Port Moresby Silver medal – second place 1983 Apia Bronze medal – third place 1963 Suva
Website	manusamoa.com

The Samoa national rugby union team represents Samoa in men's international rugby union competitions. They are governed by Samoa Rugby Union and 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 before each game. Samoa Rugby Union were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga.

Rugby was introduced to Samoa in the 1890s but a governing body was not formed for some years, and neither was a club competition organised until after World War I. 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.

History

The history of Samoan rugby is filled with provably untrue myths and legends. Among them are that the Marist Brothers brought rugby to Western Samoa in 1924 and The Western Samoa Rugby Football Union was formed in 1924. Another is that a large tree was growing in the middle of the Apia Park pitch when Samoa played its first test in 1924.

The man who brought rugby to Samoa was a New Zealand surveyor, Norman Macdonald, who arrived in the country in 1892. He organised games on an ad-hoc basis, often against crews from visiting ships. Native Samoans were encouraged to play right from the start, and did so. During the German colonial era these games still happened on an irregular basis, but the arrival of New Zealand troops in the early stages of World War I meant rugby wasn't far behind.

The first match for which a score has been preserved was played in 1918 between the Garrison and a Home XV, which the soldiers won 13-6. Club rugby began in 1923 when four clubs - Barbarians, Nomads, Rovers and United - contested the first championship. Matches were played at Pilot Point, and that ground did have a tree inside the playing area; the newspaper reports often mentioned it. By the end of that season development work was beginning at Apia Park; the ground was levelled and a football pitch was prepared, cleared of all weeds and made up to international size.

On 18 August 1924, Western Samoa played its first international against Fiji in the capital Apia, the visitors winning 6–0. The match was played at 7 am to allow the Samoans time to get to work afterwards and the ship taking the Fijian team to Tonga to make its sailing time. The return match, a month later, was won 9–3 by Samoa.

The Apia Rugby Union was formed in 1927, with eight clubs, and affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Union that year. The Western Samoa Rugby Union wasn't formed as the governing body until 1958.

Club rugby changed formats in 1936, becoming a mercantile competition with business house teams replacing the village sides. This carried on until 1940, when the game closed down during World War II. It was resumed in 1946 and had another brief hiatus until a full club competition was played in 1953; this has run uninterrupted since.

In 1956 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 1956 tour.

The traditional tri-series between Tonga, Fiji and Western Samoa was established in 1982 with Western Samoa winning the first tournament. Wales 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 Rugby World Cup in 1987.

The following year a 14-match tour of Europe took place before a World Cup elimination series in Tokyo, which gave Western Samoa a place in the 1991 Rugby World Cup in Britain. They made a huge impact. After sweeping aside Wales 16–13 in Cardiff and defeating Argentina 35–12, and narrowly losing 3–9 to eventual champions Australia in their pool match, Western Samoa, a country with a population of 160,000, found itself in the quarterfinals against Scotland at Murrayfield. 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 achievements were in Sevens where it won the 1993 Hong Kong and 1992 Middlesex Sevens. The 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa proved that the team belonged in top company. They again reached the quarterfinals after wins over Argentina and Italy, but were beaten 42–14 by the eventual winners South Africa. 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.

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 and the Western Samoan Rugby Union joining forces to form Manu Samoa Rugby Limited. Fay Richwhite invested $5 million from 1995 to 2004 into Samoan rugby.

File:Japan vs Samoa Rugby Matc 17 June 2012.jpg

Japan vs Samoa Rugby Match at Chichibunomiya Stadium on 17 June 2012, which was won by Samoa 27–26

Samoa emerged from the 1999 World Cup with its honor intact after another shock 38–31 victory over host nation Wales in the pool stages. They again lost out to Scotland in the quarterfinal play-off.

Manu Samoa qualified for the 2003 World Cup with a 17–16 loss against Fiji, Earl Va'a missing an injury-time penalty. They recovered to beat Tonga both home and away and avenged that Fijian defeat with a 22–12 win in Nadi. 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 73–12 in Port Moresby on 18 July 2009. They won 188–19 on aggregate over two matches against Papua New Guinea, having won 115–7 at Apia Park the previous week.

Samoa began their 2011 World Cup campaign preparation with a flying start, after registering an upset against No.2 ranked Australia with a four-try-to-two win of 32–23.

In November 2017, Samoa's prime minister and SRU chairman Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi announced that the organisation was bankrupt, although those claims were denied by world governing body World Rugby.

Overall record

Men's World Rugby Rankings

Top 20 as of 4 May 2026

Rank	Change	Team	Points
1	Steady	South Africa	093.94
2	Steady	New Zealand	090.33
3	Steady	Ireland	089.07
4	Steady	France	087.46
5	Steady	Argentina	084.97
6	Steady	England	083.91
7	Steady	Scotland	082.90
8	Steady	Australia	081.53
9	Steady	Fiji	081.14
10	Steady	Italy	079.64
11	Steady	Wales	075.07
12	Steady	Japan	074.09
13	Steady	Template:Country data Georgia	071.97
14	Steady	Portugal	069.64
15	Steady	Uruguay	069.19
16	Steady	United States	068.26
17	Steady	Spain	067.51
18	Steady	Chile	066.72
19	Steady	Tonga	066.66
20	Steady	Samoa	066.43
21	Steady	Belgium	061.03
22	Steady	Romania	060.67
23	Steady	Hong Kong	059.61
24	Steady	Zimbabwe	058.80
25	Steady	Canada	058.75
26	Steady	Namibia	056.96
27	Steady	Netherlands	056.44
28	Steady	Switzerland	055.47
29	Steady	Czech Republic	054.78
30	Steady	Poland	054.54

Samoa's historical rankings

arg:cols=date,Samoa|arg:data=Men's World Rugby rankings.tab|width=290}}

Source: World Rugby
Graph updated to 16 February 2026

Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Samoa national XV at test level up until 18 November 2025, updated after match with Belgium.

Opponent	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
Argentina	5	3	2	0	60%	121	101	+20
Australia	6	1	5	0	16.66%	73	238	−165
A	1	1	0	0	50.00%	31	26	+5
Barbarians	1	0	1	0	0.00%	24	27	−3
Belgium	2	1	0	1	50.00%	50	21	+29
Brazil	1	1	0	0	100.00%	48	10	+38
Canada	6	6	0	0	100.00%	169	103	+66
Chile	3	1	1	1	33.33%	87	73	+14
Cook Islands	3	3	0	0	100.00%	102	31	+71
England	9	0	9	0	0.00%	131	310	−179
Fiji	57	21	33	3	36.84%	994	1,173	−179
Fiji XV	3	0	3	0	0.00%	20	58	−38
France	4	0	4	0	0.00%	49	156	−107
Georgia	6	2	3	1	33.33%	135	110	+25
Germany	2	2	0	0	100.00%	108	43	+65
Ireland	8	1	7	0	12.5%	121	273	−152
Italy	9	6	3	0	66.67%	225	183	+42
Japan	19	12	7	0	63.16%	574	410	+164
South Korea	1	1	0	0	100.00%	74	7	+67
Namibia	3	3	0	0	100.00%	115	33	+82
New Caledonia	1	1	0	0	100.00%	28	6	+22
New Zealand	7	0	7	0	0.00%	72	411	−339
Papua New Guinea	2	2	0	0	100.00%	188	19	+169
Romania	3	1	2	0	33.33%	59	49	+10
Russia	1	1	0	0	100.00%	34	9	+25
Scotland	13	1	11	1	7.69%	205	373	−168
South Africa	9	0	9	0	0.00%	99	431	−332
Spain	2	2	0	0	100.00%	62	40	+22
Tahiti	1	1	0	0	100.00%	33	11	+22
Tonga	71	39	28	4	54.93%	1,350	1,075	+275
United States	9	6	3	0	66.67%	187	170	+17
Uruguay	1	1	0	0	100.00%	60	13	+47
Wales	10	4	6	0	40.00%	180	235	−55
West Germany	1	1	0	0	100.00%	54	9	+45
Total	280	125	144	11	44.64%	5,862	6,237	−375

World Cup record

Template:Samoa Rugby World Cup record In one of the scenes of the feature film, Invictus, Western Samoa can be seen playing South Africa in the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Pacific Nations Cup

Samoa previously competed in the Pacific Tri-Nations winning 11 tournaments. The Pacific Nations Cup replaced the Tri-Nations tournament in 2006. Samoa have won four tournaments.

Tournament	Won	Drawn	Lost	Samoa finish
2006	2	0	2	2nd / 5
2007	3	0	2	3rd / 6
2008	2	0	3	3rd / 6
2009	2	0	2	3rd / 5
2010	2	0	1	1st / 4
2011	1	0	2	3rd / 4
2012	3	0	0	1st / 4
2013	—Template:Screen reader-only	—Template:Screen reader-only	—Template:Screen reader-only	DNP
2014	1	1	0	1st / 3
2015	2	1	1	2nd / 6
2016	1	0	1	2nd / 3
2017	0	0	2	3rd / 3
2018	0	0	2	4th / 4
2019	1	0	2	4th / 6
2022	3	0	0	1st / 4
2024	2	0	2	3rd / 6
2025	0	0	3	6th / 6
Total	25	2	24	4 titles

Wins against Tier 1 nations

Samoa have recorded 17 wins against tier 1 nations. In addition, Samoa drew with Scotland 15–15 on the 18 November 1995 at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland.

6 October 1991	Wales	13–16	Template:Flagicon Samoa	Template:Flagicon Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
	Try: I Evans Emyr Con: Ring Pen: Ring	Report	Try: Vaega Vaifale Con: Vaea Pen: Vaea (2)	Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Template:Flagicon Patrick Robin (France)

13 October 1991	Argentina	12–35	Template:Flagicon Samoa	Template:Flagicon Sardis Road, Pontypridd
	Try: Teran Nougues Con: Arbizu Pen: Arbizu Laborde	Report	Try: Bachop Bunce Lima (2) Tagaloa (2) Con: Vaea (4) Pen: Vaea	Attendance: 8,500

25 June 1994	Samoa Template:Flagicon	34–9	Wales	Template:Flagicon Moamoa
	Try: Lam Lima (2) Con: Kellett (2) Pen: Kellett (5)	Report	Pen: N Jenkins (3)	Referee: Template:Flagicon Barry Leask (Australia)

27 May 1995	Italy	18–42	Template:Flagicon Samoa	Template:Flagicon ABSA Stadium, East London
	Try: Cuttitta Vaccari Con: Domínguez Pen: Domínguez Drop: Domínguez	Report	Try: Harder (2) Kellett Lima (2) Tatupu Con: Kellett (3) Pen: Kellett (2)	Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Template:Flagicon Joel Dume (France)

30 May 1995	Argentina	26–32	Template:Flagicon Samoa	Template:Flagicon ABSA Stadium, East London
	Try: Crexell Penalty Try Con: Cilley (2) Pen: Cilley (4)	Report	Try: Harder Lam Leaupepe Con: Kellett Pen: Kellett (5)	Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Template:Flagicon Dave Bishop (New Zealand)

12 November 1996	Ireland	25–40	Template:Flagicon Samoa	Template:Flagicon Lansdowne Road, Dublin
	Try: Wallace Con: Mason Pen: Mason (6)	Report	Try: Leaupepe Patu So'oalo Vaega (2) Con: Va'a (3) Pen: Va'a (3)	Referee: Template:Flagicon Santiago Borsani (Argentina)

14 October 1999	Wales	31–38	Template:Flagicon Samoa	Template:Flagicon Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
	Try: Thomas Penalty Try (2) Con: N Jenkins (2) Pen: N Jenkins (4)	Report	Try: Bachop (2) Falaniko Lam Leaega Con: Leaega (5) Pen: Leaega	Attendance: 72,500 Referee: Template:Flagicon Ed Morrison (England)

8 July 2000	Samoa Template:Flagicon	43–24	Italy	Template:Flagicon Apia Park, Apia
	Try: Lima Samania So'oalo Vaega Vili Con: Samania (3) Pen: Samania (4)	Report	Try: Checchinato Moscardi Stoica Con: Pez (3) Drop: Pez	Attendance: 7,500 Referee: Template:Flagicon Tappe Henning (South Africa)

24 November 2001	Italy	9–17	Template:Flagicon Samoa	Template:Flagicon Stadio Tommaso Fattori, L'Aquila
	Pen: Domínguez (3)	Report	Try: Fa'atau Pen: Leaega (2) Vili (2)	Attendance: 8,000 Referee: Template:Flagicon Robert G. Davies (Wales)

3 December 2005	Argentina	12–28	Template:Flagicon Samoa	Template:Flagicon Buenos Aires
	Try: Agulla Fernández Lobbe Con: Fernández Miranda	Report	Try: Johnston Sititi Tagicakibau Con: Warren (2) Pen: Warren (2) Drop: Warren	Referee: Template:Flagicon Nigel Owens (Wales)

17 July 2011	Australia	23–32	Template:Flagicon Samoa	Template:Flagicon Stadium Australia, Sydney
	Try: Ioane 37' Giteau 70' Con: Giteau (38', 71') Pen: Giteau (40', 41', 57')	Report	Try: Tuilagi 11' Williams 28' Thompson 45' G Pisi 54' Con: T Pisi (13', 29', 55') Pen: T Pisi (3', 65')	Attendance: 29,908 Referee: Template:Flagicon Marius Jonker (South Africa)

16 November 2012	Wales	19–26	Template:Flagicon Samoa	Template:Flagicon Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
	Try: Beck 32' Con: Halfpenny (1/1) 33' Pen: Halfpenny (4/5) 15', 28', 49', 61'	Report	Try: Autagavaia 1' c G Pisi 46' m Leota 77' m Con: T Pisi (1/3) 2' Pen: T Pisi (3/6) 40', 56', 65'	Attendance: 44,329 Referee: Template:Flagicon Pascal Gauzère (France)

8 June 2013	Samoa Template:Flagicon	27–17	Scotland	Template:Flagicon Mr Price Kings Park, Durban
	Try: So'oialo 6' c Tuilagi (2) 11' c, 62' c Con: So'oialo (3/3) 8', 13', 64' Pen: So'oialo (2/3) 53', 69'		Try: Lamont 49' m Pen: Laidlaw (4/5) 10', 18', 31', 41'	Attendance: 9,753 Referee: Template:Flagicon John Lacey (Ireland)

15 June 2013	Samoa Template:Flagicon	39–10	Italy	Template:Flagicon Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
	Try: Williams 20' c Leiua 41' m Leota 53' c Tuifu'a 63' c Va'aulu 72' c Con: Williams (3/4) 21', 53', 64' Anufe (1/1) 73' Pen: Williams (2/3) 30', 51'		Try: Penalty try 70' c Con: di Bernardo (1/1) 70' Pen: Orquera (1/3) 27'	Referee: Template:Flagicon Craig Joubert (South Africa)

14 June 2014	Samoa	15–0	Italy	Template:Flagicon Apia Park, Apia
14:00 WST (UTC+13)	Pen: T. Pisi (5/7) 10', 24', 30', 47', 69'	Report (In Italian)		Attendance: 7,000 Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

22 July 2023	Japan	22–24	Samoa	Template:Flagicon Sapporo Dome, Sapporo
14:50 JST (UTC+09)	Try: Fakatava 6' c Con: Lee Seung-sin (1/1) 7' Pen: Lee Seung-sin (5/5) 19', 42', 47', 57', 61'		Try: Motuga 37' c Taumateine 48' c Manu 63' c Con: Leali'ifano (3/3) 38', 50', 64' Pen: Leali'ifano (1/1) 25'	Attendance: 22,063 Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France)

5 July 2024	Samoa	33–25	Italy	Template:Flagicon Apia Park, Apia
17:00 AST (UTC+13)	Try: Taramai 9' c Ah Wong 30' m Toala 58' c Moleli 77' m Con: Leuila (2/3) 10', 59' Pen: Leuila (3/3) 43', 50', 69'		Try: Ioane 16' m Lynagh 20' c Garbisi 45' c Con: Garbisi (2/3) 21', 46' Pen: Garbisi (2/3) 14', 36'	Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)

Players

Current squad

On 31 October, Samoa named a 30-player squad ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup Final Qualification Tournament.

Head coach: Template:Flagdeco Tusi Pisi

• Caps updated: 13 November 2025 (after Samoa v Namibia)

Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.

Player	Position	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club/province
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1998-02-19) 19 February 1998	14	Perpignan
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1999-08-31) 31 August 1999	2	Moana Pasifika
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1998-06-01) 1 June 1998	11	Biarritz
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1996-09-26) 26 September 1996	6	Suburbs Rugby Club
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1991-08-28) 28 August 1991	26	Clermont
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1995-02-11) 11 February 1995	3	Harlequins
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1991-10-16) 16 October 1991	1	Exeter Chiefs
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1993-08-05) 5 August 1993	9	Saracens
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1994-03-02) 2 March 1994	15	Moana Pasifika
(c)	Template:Rugby squad role	(1995-10-16) 16 October 1995	23	Saracens
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1993-05-12) 12 May 1993	17	Kamaishi Seawaves
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1999-08-31) 31 August 1999	5	Moana Pasifika
	Template:Rugby squad role	(2000-07-22) 22 July 2000	2	Waitemata
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1997-11-04) 4 November 1997	14	Stade Français
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1994-09-11) 11 September 1994	13	Moana Pasifika
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1993-06-20) 20 June 1993	4	Castres Olympique
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1993-12-26) 26 December 1993	15	Toyota Jido Shokki
	Template:Rugby squad role	(2002-05-17) 17 May 2002	3	Burnside Rugby Club
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1996-09-28) 28 September 1996	18	Moana Pasifika
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1999-12-08) 8 December 1999	7	Unattached
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1991-08-17) 17 August 1991	16	Seattle Seawolves
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1998-07-08) 8 July 1998	3	Benetton
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1999-02-12) 12 February 1999	6	Moana Pasifika
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1993-04-18) 18 April 1993	13	Pau
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1993-08-03) 3 August 1993	8	Capilano
	Template:Rugby squad role	(2000-04-06) 6 April 2000	2	Southland
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1998-10-10) 10 October 1998	2	Suresnes
	Template:Rugby squad role		5	Western Sydney Two Blues
	Template:Rugby squad role	(2000-02-25) 25 February 2000	9	Moana Pasifika
	Template:Rugby squad role	(1995-01-20) 20 January 1995	13	Perpignan Player records Most caps # Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Won Lost Draw % 1 Brian Lima Wing 1991–2007 65 62 3 32 31 2 50.76 2 To'o Vaega Centre 1986–2001 61 56 5 35 25 1 58.19 3 Semo Sititi Flanker 1999–2009 59 50 9 33 26 0 55.93 4 Census Johnston Prop 2005–2017 57 43 14 25 31 1 44.73 5 David Lemi Wing 2004–2017 54 46 8 21 31 2 40.74 6 Jack Lam Flanker 2013-2022 44 39 5 14 28 2 41.66 Zak Taulafo Prop 2009–2016 44 39 5 20 22 2 47.72 8 Opeta Palepoi Lock 1998–2005 43 30 13 24 19 0 55.81 9 Tusi Pisi Fly-half 2011–2019 42 38 4 15 26 1 36.90 Ofisa Treviranus Flanker 2009–2018 42 32 15 17 24 1 41.66 Last updated: United States vs Samoa, 21 September 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Most tries # Player Pos Span Mat Start Sub Pts Tries 1 Brian Lima Wing 1991–2007 65 62 3 140 29 2 Alesana Tuilagi Wing 2002–2015 37 35 2 90 18 3 Semo Sititi Flanker 1999–2009 59 50 9 85 17 4 Afato So'oalo Wing 1996–2001 20 18 2 80 16 5 Lome Fa'atau Wing 2000–2007 35 31 4 70 14 To'o Vaega Centre 1986–2001 61 56 5 79 14 7 David Lemi Wing 2004–2017 54 46 8 65 13 8 Ed Fidow Wing 2018–2023 21 16 5 60 12 9 George Leaupepe Centre 1995–2005 26 23 3 50 10 10 Tupo Fa'amasino Centre 1988–1996 20 20 0 52 9 Alapati Leiua Centre 2013–2024 36 33 3 45 9 Elvis Seveali'i Centre 2000–2007 20 16 4 45 9 Last updated: United States vs Samoa, 21 September 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Most points # Player Pos Span Mat Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop 1 Tusi Pisi Fly-half 2011–2019 42 245 2 29 57 2 2 Earl Va'a Fly-half 1996–2003 28 174 3 33 31 0 3 Silao Leaega Fullback 1997–2002 19 145 2 21 31 0 4 Brian Lima Wing 1991–2007 65 140 29 0 0 0 5 Darren Kellett Fly-half 1993–1995 13 137 2 14 31 2 6 Roger Warren Fly-half 2004–2008 12 119 0 13 29 2 7 D'Angelo Leuila Fly-half 2016- 29 106 2 21 16 2 Gavin Williams Centre 2007–2010 16 106 5 18 15 0 9 Tanner Vili Fly-half 1999–2006 31 99 4 20 13 0 10 Alesana Tuilagi Wing 2002–2015 37 90 18 0 0 0 Last updated: United States vs Samoa, 21 September 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Most matches as captain # Player Pos Span Mat Won Lost Draw % Pts Tries 1 Semo Sititi Flanker 2000–2007 39 19 20 0 48.71 45 9 2 Pat Lam Number 8 1995–1999 23 8 13 2 39.13 10 2 3 David Lemi Wing 2012–2017 21 9 10 2 47.61 35 7 4 Peter Fatialofa Prop 1990–1995 16 11 5 0 68.75 9 2 5 Michael Alaalatoa Prop 2019- 13 8 4 1 61.54 0 0 Mahonri Schwalger Hooker 2009–2011 13 5 8 0 38.46 0 0 7 Theo McFarland Lock 2024- 11 6 4 1 54.55 0 0 Chris Vui Lock 2017–2023 11 4 7 0 37.50 5 1 9 Jack Lam Flanker 2018–2019 9 1 8 0 12.50 15 3 10 George Stowers Number 8 2008–2009 7 4 3 0 57.14 10 2 Last updated: Samoa vs Belgium, 18 November 2025. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Most points in a match # Player Pos Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Opposition Venue Date 1 Gavin Williams Centre 30 2 10 0 0 Papua New Guinea Template:Flagicon Apia 11/07/2009 2 Roger Warren Fly-half 24 0 0 8 0 Tonga Template:Flagicon Apia 29/05/2004 3 Andrew Aiolupo Fullback 23 1 8 1 0 South Korea Template:Flagicon Tokyo 08/04/1990 Silao Leaega Fullback 23 1 3 4 0 Japan Template:Flagicon Wrexham 03/10/1999 Toa Samania Fullback 23 1 3 4 0 Italy Template:Flagicon Apia 08/07/2000 6 Darren Kellett Fly-half 22 0 2 5 1 Tonga Template:Flagicon Moamoa 04/06/1994 Ahsee Tuala Fullback 22 2 6 0 0 Germany Template:Flagicon Heidelberg 14/07/2018 8 To'o Vaega Centre 21 1 4 3 0 Fiji Template:Flagicon Apia 01/06/1991 Earl Va'a Fly-half 21 1 5 2 0 Georgia Template:Flagicon Perth 19/10/2003 Roger Warren Fly-half 21 0 3 4 1 Fiji Template:Flagicon Apia 09/07/2005 Last updated: United States vs Samoa, 21 September 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Most tries in a match # Player Pos Pts Tries Conv Pens Drop Opposition Venue Date 1 Elvis Seveali'i Wing 20 4 0 0 0 Japan Template:Flagicon Apia 10/06/2000 Alesana Tuilagi Wing 20 4 0 0 0 Tonga Template:Flagicon Apia 02/07/2005 Esera Lauina Wing 20 4 0 0 0 Papua New Guinea Template:Flagicon Apia 11/07/2009 Robert Lilomaiava Wing 20 4 0 0 0 Canada Template:Flagicon Colwyn Bay 09/11/2012 5 Tupo Fa'amasino Wing 12 3 0 0 0 South Korea Template:Flagicon Tokyo 08/04/1990 Brian Lima Centre 12 3 0 0 0 Fiji Template:Flagicon Apia 01/06/1991 Afato So'oalo Wing 15 3 0 0 0 Tonga Template:Flagicon Apia 28/06/1997 Dominic Feau'nati Wing 15 3 0 0 0 Namibia Template:Flagicon Windhoek 12/07/2003 Mikaele Pesamino Wing 15 3 0 0 0 Papua New Guinea Template:Flagicon Port Moresby 18/07/2009 Alesana Tuilagi Wing 15 3 0 0 0 Namibia Template:Flagicon Rotorua 14/09/2011 Ed Fidow Wing 15 3 0 0 0 Germany Template:Flagicon Apia 30/06/2018 Last updated: United States vs Samoa, 21 September 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only. Coaches Current Coaches Template:Flagicon Tusi Pisi (Head Coach) Template:Flagicon Kane Thompson (Lineout and Skills) Template:Flagicon Census Johnston (Scrum and Forwards) Template:Flagicon Tai Lavea (Defence) Coaching History Period Name Nationality 197?–19?? Keli Tuatagaloa 198?–198? Paul Wallwork 198?–1988 Richard Cook 1989–1995 Peter Schuster 1996–1999 Bryan Williams 2000–2003 John Boe 2004–2007 Michael Jones 2008–2009 Niko Palamo 2009–2011 Titimaea Tafua 2011 Scott Wisemantel 2012–2015 Stephen Betham 2016–2017 Alama Ieremia 2017–2018 Titimaea Tafua 2018–2020 Steve Jackson 2020–2023 Seilala Mapusua 2024–2025 Mahonri Schwalger 2025–present Tusi Pisi New Zealand connection Western Samoa's triumph in the 1991 Rugby World Cup was inspired by their assistant coach Bryan Williams, who was a New Zealand-born (of Samoan descent) All Black great of the 1970s. The 1991 Samoan World Cup team included many New Zealand born or raised players; the catalyst was Auckland prop Peter Fatialofa, who in 1989, became the first major New Zealand-based player to play for Samoa. By the time of the 1991 World Cup several other New Zealand-born Samoans like Pat Lam, Stephen Bachop, Frank Bunce and Apollo Perelini had joined him. New Zealand born players with Samoan parentage have played for Samoa, such as Earl Va'a, Pat Lam and Lome Fa'atau. The rugby relationship that exists between New Zealand and Samoa is a complex one. Close ties exist between the two countries, these bonds first being formed with the start of mass Polynesian migration to New Zealand in the latter half of the twentieth century. At the 2007 World Cup, there were 14 New Zealand-born players in the Samoan squad. The only team with more foreign born players in their squad was Italy who had 15. Strips Manu Samoa play in blue and white uniforms, with the home strip consisting of blue jerseys, white shorts and blue socks and the away kit being with the colours reversed. Since 2007, the flag of Samoa has been featured on the left sleeve and pe'a-like patterns were incorporated into the jerseys. Sponsored logos appear on jerseys for matches other than the Rugby World Cup, where branding, except for equipment manufacturers, is not allowed. Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor 1986–1988 Umbro No shirt sponsor 1988–1992 Canterbury 1992–1994 Telecom New Zealand 1994–1996 Vailima 1996–1998 Reebok 1998 Newcall 1999 Adidas 1999–2003 No shirt sponsor 2004–2005 Puma 2005–2009 Samoa International Finance Authority 2010–2011 KooGa 2012–2013 BLK Digicel 2014–2015 Canterbury^b Cromwell Property Group (front), Redefine Properties (back) 2015 BLK 2016 Bluesky Communications 2016–2017 LE Sportswear 2017 Magnum Hire (front),^c Henderson Cars (back) ^c Invest Samoa ^d 2018–2021 BLK Grey Investment Group 2021 Dynasty Sport^e 2021-2022 Castore Grey Investment Group 2022 Aramis Rugby (front) Samoa IBFC (back) 2023-2024 Macron 2024- Samurai Sportswear ^b Canterbury brand apparel was supplied for the 2014 end-of-year tour. ^c Sponsors worn during the Pasifika Challenge double-header. ^d Invest Samoa sponsored Samoa during the 2017 end-of-year rugby union tests. ^eLakapi Samoa partners with Dynasty Sport and reveals Jersey for the June-July 2021 Test Series. See also Rugby World Cup Pacific Tri-Nations Pacific Islanders rugby union team Samoa national rugby sevens team Samoa Rugby Football Union Samoa national rugby league team Notes External links Manu Samoa Samoa Rugby Union Manu Samoa Looking Forward For RWC2011 Manu Samoa Rugby blog Samoan rugby union news Planet Rugby The information website for supporters of the Manu Samoa Rugby Team Rankings International Rugby Board Pacific Islanders Rugby Team Supporters Site