Samoa national rugby sevens team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Samoa women's national rugby sevens team.
Samoa
Union Samoa Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s) Manu
Coach(es) Gordon Tietjens
Captain(s) Fa’alemiga Selesele
Top scorer Uale Mai 1174
Most tries Mikaele Pesamino 151
Team kit
World Cup Sevens
Appearances 6 (First in 1993)
Best result 3rd place, 1997, 2009 champions 2010

The Samoa national rugby sevens team, referred to as the Samoa Sevens or Manu Samoa 7s, represents Samoa internationally in rugby sevens. The team competes in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series, and won the 2009–10 World Series following a 15-12 victory against England in the semi-finals at the 2010 Edinburgh Sevens.[1] Samoa Sevens defeated Australia in the final and were crowned winners of the 2010 Edinburgh Sevens. The historic victory followed three consecutive tournament wins in the world series, the Hong Kong Sevens,[2] the USA Sevens and the Adelaide Sevens.[3]

Representing the tiny Polynesian country of Samoa with a population of about 180,000 the Samoa Sevens team competes against some of the wealthiest countries in the world.[4]

Samoa has played at all Rugby World Cup Sevens finals tournaments since the championship began in 1993, and won the third-place final in 1997 and 2007. The team has won four Oceania Sevens titles since the first competition in 2008. Samoa also won all four gold medals at the Pacific Games Sevens and Pacific Mini Games Sevens between 2007 and 2013, defeating Fiji in the final on each occasion.

Rugby union in Samoa is governed by the Samoa Rugby Football Union (SRU) which oversees the Samoa Sevens team and the 15-player Manu Samoa national team.

History

The first Samoan sevens team was selected in November 1978 to play at the invitation Hong Kong Sevens under the leadership of former SRU representative captain, Tuatagaloa Keli Tuatagaloa. The team included Rev-Dr Faitala Talapusi as captain, Lemalu Roy Slade (Brisbane) as vice-captain, Rev. Paul Gray (Melbourne), Peter Schmidt, Feausiga Sililoto, Andy Leavasa (USA), Salafuti Patu and others.

Uganda v Samoa (20 March 2006)

In 2007, the team won both the Wellington Sevens and Hong Kong Sevens. Another past victory was the Hong Kong Sevens in 1993. In 2009, the team made the finals in the Dubai Sevens but lost to the New Zealand team.

While long a solidly competitive side, the Samoa Sevens emerged as true world contenders in the 2006-07 Sevens World Series, finishing third overall while winning two events. This new team has reached the final four times in a row, playing against series favourite Fiji.

Coaches

The current coach is Damian McGrath. Past coaches have included Lilomaiava Taufusi Salesa who trained the 1993 Hong Kong Sevens winning team. Other notable coaches who have led Samoa to sevens prominence were head coach Fuimaono Titimaea "Dicky" Tafua and his assistant Galumalemana Rudolph Moors. In the 2005 - 2006 IRB Sevens Circuit they managed to qualify to two finals (London and Paris) but failed to win any. The Samoa Sevens lost to South Africa in London and island rivals Fiji at Paris.

Fuimaono resigned from coaching in 2007 to his new post as Secretary to Samoa's Head of State, Tupua Tamasese Tufuga Efi. He would later return to coaching in 2009 as head coach of the 15s national team. Galumalemana took over as coach and after a disappointing team performance in the 2008–09 series was temporarily replaced by Lilomaiava Taufusi Salesa for the final two legs of the series. Stephen Betham was named as Galumalemana successor in 2009.

Tournament history

Summer Olympics

Olympics Games record
Year Round Position Pld W L D
Brazil 2016 Did Not Qualify
Total0 Titles0/1----

World Rugby Sevens Series

2009-10 IRB Sevens World Series

Itinerary

The series' tournaments are identical to those in 2008–09 and span the globe, visiting five of the six populated continents.

The itinerary for the 2009–10 IRB Sevens World Series;

2009–10 Itinerary[5]
Leg Venue Date Winner
Dubai The Sevens 4–5 December 2009  New Zealand
South Africa Outeniqua Park, George 11–12 December 2009  New Zealand
New Zealand Westpac Stadium, Wellington 5–6 February 2010  Fiji
United States Sam Boyd Stadium, Las Vegas 13–14 February 2010  Samoa
Australia Adelaide Oval, Adelaide 19–21 March 2010  Samoa
Hong Kong Hong Kong Stadium 26–28 March 2010  Samoa
London Twickenham 22–23 May 2010  Australia
Edinburgh Murrayfield, Edinburgh 29–30 May 2010  Samoa

Overall Standings

2009–10 Standings[6]
Pos. Country Dubai South Africa
(George)		 New Zealand
(Wellington)		 USA
(Las Vegas)		 Australia
(Adelaide)		 Hong Kong England
(London)		 Scotland
(Edinburgh)		 Overall
1  Samoa 20 6 20 24 24 30 16 24 164
2  New Zealand 24 24 16 20 12 25 12 16 149
3  Australia 12 6 12 16 16 16 24 20 122
4  Fiji 16 20 24 8 6 20 8 6 108
5  England 16 12 16 6 4 20 6 16 96
6  South Africa 8 8 8 12 8 10 20 6 80
7  Argentina 6 16 0 0 16 0 16 8 62
8  Kenya 6 16 6 16 0 8 0 0 52
9  Wales 4 4 4 6 6 0 6 4 34
10  United States 0 0 0 4 20 8 0 0 32
11  Canada DNP DNP 6 0 DNP 5 4 0 15
12  Scotland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 12

Win summaries

Event Venue Cup Plate Bowl Shield
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Winner Winner
2016 Paris Sevens Stade Jean Bouin
Samoa		 29 - 26
Fiji
South Africa
Scotland
Portugal
2012 Dubai Sevens The Sevens Stadium
Samoa		 26 - 15
New Zealand
Wales
Argentina
England
2012 USA Sevens Sam Boyd Stadium
Samoa		 26 - 19
New Zealand
Kenya
Canada
France
2010 Edinburgh Sevens Murrayfield Stadium
Samoa		 41 - 14
Australia
Scotland
Wales
Russia
2010 Hong Kong Sevens Hong Kong Stadium
Samoa		 24 - 21
New Zealand
Australia
Canada
Hong Kong
2010 Adelaide Sevens Adelaide Oval
Samoa		 38 - 10
United States
New Zealand
England
Japan
2010 USA Sevens Sam Boyd Stadium
Samoa		 33 - 12
New Zealand
South Africa
United States
Scotland
2008 London Sevens Westpac Stadium
Samoa		 19 - 14
Fiji
New Zealand
Australia
Spain
2007 Hong Kong Sevens Hong Kong Stadium
Samoa		 27 - 22
Fiji
Wales
Russia
2007 Wellington Sevens Westpac Stadium
Samoa		 14 - 7
Fiji
England
Tonga
Portugal
1993 Hong Kong Sevens Hong Kong Stadium
Western Samoa		 14 - 12
Fiji
Tonga
Romania

In July 1997, the Government of Samoa amended its constitution to change the country's name from Western Samoa to Samoa.[7]

Current squad

Samoa sevens team, 2014

Squad to 2015 Pacific Games:[8]

Previous squads

Former players

Two of the highest points and try scorers in series history, Uale Mai and Mikaele Pesamino, played for Samoa. Pesamino was also named the 2010 IRB International Sevens Player of the Year, an honour which Uale Mai, a former team captain and one of the most capped players in the sport, had won in 2006. Captain Lolo Lui and teammate Alafoti Fa'osiliva had also been nominated.[10]

Crowd at the 2009 Hong Kong Sevens.

Other statistics

Year Host Cup Final Plate Final
Winner Score Runner-up Winner Score Runner-up
2009
Details		 Dubai Exiles Rugby Ground
New Zealand		 24-12
Samoa
Australia		 7-0
South Africa
2008
Details		 Dubai Exiles Rugby Ground
South Africa		 19-12
England
Samoa		 12-7
Kenya
2007
Details		 Dubai Exiles Rugby Ground
New Zealand		 31-21
Fiji
Argentina		 15-14
Samoa
2004
Details		 Dubai Exiles Rugby Ground
England		 26 - 21
Fiji
Samoa		 21 - 19
Argentina
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2010
Details		 Westpac Stadium
Fiji		 19-14
Samoa
Australia		 26-22
South Africa
2008
Details		 Westpac Stadium
New Zealand		 22-7
Samoa
South Africa		 19-12
Wales
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2007[11]
Details		 San Diego, California
Fiji		 38 - 24
Samoa
South Africa		 28 - 19
Scotland
2005[12]
Details		 Carson, California
New Zealand		 34 - 5
Argentina
Fiji		 24 - 21
Samoa
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2007
Details		 Outeniqua Park
New Zealand		 33-9
Fiji
South Africa		 12-7
Samoa
2005
Details		 Outeniqua Park
Fiji		 21 - 19
Argentina
Samoa		 17 - 5
New Zealand
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2007
Details		 Adelaide Oval
Fiji		 21-7
Samoa
Australia		 31-0
South Africa
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2007
Details		 Murrayfield
New Zealand		 34-5
Samoa
Fiji		 31-7
Kenya
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2006
Details		 Stade Jean-Bouin
South Africa		 33-12
Samoa
Fiji		 31-12
Argentina
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2006
Details		 National Stadium, Singapore
Fiji		 40-21
England
Samoa		 26-5
France
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
2006
Details		 Twickenham
Fiji		 54-14
Samoa
South Africa		 42-7
Kenya
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
1998
Details		 Hong Kong Stadium
Fiji		 28-19
Samoa
South Korea		 40–14
Papua New Guinea
Year Venue Cup Plate
Winner Final Score Runner-up Winner Final Score Runner-up
1979
Details		 HK Football Club Stadium
Australia		 39-3
Samoa
Papua New Guinea		 13-10
Hawaii

See also

References

  1. ↑ International Rugby Board, Retrieved 31 May 2010
  2. ↑ "Samoa win Hong Kong Sevens". Times LIVE. 28 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  3. ↑ "Superb Samoa wins Adelaide Sevens". International Rugby Board. 21 March 2010. Retrieved 29 March 2010.
  4. ↑ Hunter, Russell (22 March 2010). "A breathtaking achievement". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  5. ↑ "2009/10 IRB Sevens World Series schedule set" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 8 July 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
  6. ↑ "Overall Standings". International Rugby Board. Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  7. ↑ "Constitution Amendment Act (No 2) 1997". Retrieved 27 November 2007.
  8. ↑ pg2015.gems.pro (9 July 2015). "2015 Pacific Games Men's 7s" (PDF). Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  9. ↑ IRB (16 July 2014). "Commonwealth Games Sevens squads: Latest". Retrieved 24 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "NZ sevens players miss awards list". Television NZ. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  11. ↑ Official 2007 Results
  12. ↑ Official 2005 Results
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