 | |||
| Nickname | Manu Samoa | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Emblem | Southern cross | ||
| Union | Rugby Samoa | ||
| Head coach | Mahonri Schwalger | ||
| Captain | Theo McFarland | ||
| Most caps | Brian Lima (67) | ||
| Top scorer | Tusi Pisi (245) | ||
| Top try scorer | Brian Lima (29) | ||
| Home stadium | Apia Park | ||
| |||
| World Rugby ranking | |||
| Current | 12 (as of 28 August 2023) | ||
| Highest | 7 (2012, 2013) | ||
| Lowest | 17 (2018, 2019) | ||
| First international | |||
 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 | |||
| Website | manusamoa.com | ||
The Samoa national rugby union team represents the Samoa Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. They are also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior.[1] 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.[2] They are ranked 11th in the world.[3]
Rugby was introduced to Samoa in the early 1920s and a governing body 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 – 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.
- ^ "MANU SAMOA | Meaning & Definition for UK English | Lexico.com". Lexico Dictionaries | English. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
- ^ We quit: SRU Samoa Observer
- ^ "World Rugby Rankings". World Rugby.