Samoa Rugby Union

The Samoa Rugby Union is the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Samoa.[lower-alpha 1] They were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga.[1]

Samoa Rugby Union
SportRugby union
Founded1924
World Rugby affiliation1988
PIRA affiliation2002
PresidentTuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi
Men's coachSteve Jackson
Websitehttp://www.manusamoa.com.ws

There are 12 provincial unions made up of around 120 clubs and boasting nearly 5,000 senior and twice as many junior players in a country with a population of just under 175,000 people.

The Western Samoa Rugby Football Union was formed in 1924. It joined the International Rugby Board in 1988.

The main domestic tournament is the Samoa National Provincial Championship.

National teams

The Samoa national rugby union team 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.[1] They are ranked 12th in the world as of 2017.[2]

The Samoa national rugby sevens team competes in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series, and won the 2009–10 World Series.[3] Samoa were crowned winners of the 2010 Edinburgh Sevens. The historic victory followed three consecutive tournament wins in the world series, the Hong Kong Sevens,[4] the USA Sevens and the Adelaide Sevens.[5]

Financial problems

In November 2017, Samoa's prime minister and SRU chairman Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi announced that the organisation was bankrupt,[6] although those claims were denied by world governing body World Rugby.[7]

Notes
  1. i.e. Western Samoa, Rugby union in American Samoa is administered separately.

References
  1. "We quit: SRU". www.samoaobserver.ws. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  2. "World Rugby Rankings". World Rugby.
  3. "International Rugby Board, Retrieved 31 May 2010". irb.com. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  4. "Samoa win Hong Kong Sevens". Times LIVE. 28 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  5. "Superb Samoa wins Adelaide Sevens". International Rugby Board. 21 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  6. "Union broke, P.M. admits". Samoa Observer. 7 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  7. "Autumn Tests: Samoa rugby not bankrupt, says World Rugby". BBC. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
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