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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Samoa women's national rugby league team.
Not to be confused with American Samoa national rugby league team.

Samoa
Badge of Samoa team
Team information
NicknameToa Samoa
Governing body Rugby League Samoa
Region Asia-Pacific
Head coachBen Gardiner
Captain Junior Paulo
Most caps Tim Lafai (18)
Top try-scorer Tim Lafai (9)
Top point-scorer Stephen Crichton (73)
IRL ranking4th
Team results
First game
  Western Samoa 34–12 Tokelau 
( Rarotonga, Cook Islands; 1986)
Biggest win
  New Caledonia 0–76 Samoa 
( Auckland, New Zealand; 20 October 2004)
Biggest defeat
  New Zealand Māori 70-10 Samoa 
( Auckland, New Zealand; 21 October 2004)
World Cup
Appearances6 (first time in 1995)
Best resultRunners-Up ( 2021)

The Samoa national rugby league team represents Samoa in rugby league football and has participated in international competition since 1986. Known as Western Samoa before 1997, the team is administered by Rugby League Samoa and are nicknamed Toa Samoa ( English: Samoan Warriors).

History

Western Samoa made their debut in the 1986 Pacific Cup. Joe Raymond coached this side to a final where they went down to a strong NZ Maori side. Joe Raymond went on to coach them again in 1988 and would return again to coach them 10 years later in 1998 in a one-off game against a Samoan team of Samoan resident players at Carlaw park.

William John "Swanny" Stowers and his wife Lyndsay Stowers operated Samoa Rugby League out of their North Shore home in Auckland and from the Richmond Rugby League Club house where Lyndsay ran the canteen. This resilient couple were known to have put a mortgage on their home to assist with funding the thirty (30) men representing Samoa in the Pacific Cup held in Tonga, 1990.[ citation needed] This commitment lead to a historical win over the Maori team for the first time and a win in the 1990 Pacific Cup. Coached by the Richmond Bulldogs Head Coach, Steve Aigai.

Samoa then won the 1992 Pacific Cup over Tonga in an action filled thriller that went into two (2) overtimes and sent the NZ Rugby League and Polynesian rugby league public into a frenzy. The 1992 Tournament showcased all of NZ Rugby league talent and Australian Rugby league scouts were already booked to witness the 1994 Pacific Cup held in Fiji.

In 1993 Western Samoa were invited to the International Coca-Cola Sevens in Sydney. With Auckland based Samoan players such as Mark Elia, Tony Tuimavave, Tony Tatupu, Faausu Afoa and Des Maea followed by a group of up and coming players such as Matthew TuiSamoa, Lionel Perera, Aleki Maea, Paki Tuimavave, Joe Vagana, Sefo Fuimaono and Peter Lima, the team beat the Canberra Raiders and the Great Britain International team. Coached by the Richmond Bulldogs' Head Coach Steve Aigai, this team gave Samoa the status to create the strong foundation Western Samoa Rugby League needed to move forward. Below this strong foundation however was the strength and commitment of two people: Swanny and Lyndsay Stowers. These two held together the concept of Samoa Rugby League and without their dream, Samoa RL will not be where it is today.[ citation needed]

Steve Aigai in his sixth year as the Samoan Coach had an array of NZ based quality players for the 1994 Pacific Cup with the likes of Se'e Solomona, Tony Tatupu, the Tuimavave brothers Paki and Tony plus the loyal players of Mike Setefano, Matthew TuiSamoa, Alex Tupou and Mark Faumuina. Henry Suluvale and Rudy David led the contingent of first class players from Canterbury however this arsenal were well contained by the Tongan stars Jim Dymock, John Hopoate, Solomon Haumono and Albert Fulivai.

Late 1990s

The 1995 Samoan team had the benefit of ex- All Blacks John Schuster and Va'aiga Tuigamala in their backline. When rugby union went openly professional players such as Apollo Perelini and Fereti Tuilagi left rugby league to return to the 15-man game.

Samoa lost the Pacific Cup in 1996.

The 1998 Pacific Cup team saw a new and old talent. Joe Raymond, one of the first Samoan Rugby League Rep coaches returned after coaching Tonga and the NZ Maori, the late Eddie Poching managed the team and the introduction of Francis Meli to Samoan Rugby League and Junior Papalii a loyal American Samoan Representative. Pati Tuimavave from the 1992 squad and Matthew TuiSamoa, the only survivor from 1990 Pacific Cup champion team returned. Samoa battled Tonga for the 1998 Pacific Cup again at Carlaw park and again Samoa regained the Pacific Champions Title.

2000s

The Pacific Cup was taken to Australia's Gold Coast in 2000 where Auckland coach John Ackland took over the reins. Ackland added another dimension to Samoa Rugby League in selecting rising stars Itikeri Samani a Canberra and Goulburn Stockmen Junior who previously represented American Samoa and Wayne McDade from the New Zealand Warriors while bringing back Matthew FuaSamoa into the Pacific Cup arena.

2000 Rugby League World Cup campaign

Main article: 2000 Rugby League World Cup

Samoa took on Ireland, Scotland, and the Aotearoa Māori in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup pool stages. They would lose to 'the Irish' in their opening game, but they'd beat NZ Maori, and Scotland in their next two games, sealing a place in the knock-out stages. They would take on Australia in the quarter-final. Unfortunately, they ended their tournament with a thrashing 66–10 defeat (their biggest defeat up to date), sealing an end to a respectable World Cup Campaign.

2008 Rugby League World Cup campaign

Main article: 2008 Rugby League World Cup

Samoa played in the Pacific Pool of the 2008 Rugby League World Cup Qualifiers. They beat the Cook Islands and Fiji, but lost to Tonga. On a points difference, Samoa came in third and had to play USA in the Repecharge Semi-final. Samoa won this match 42–10 and then played Lebanon on 14 November 2007 in the Repecharge Final to see who would take the 10th and final World Cup place. Samoa came out eventual winners of the 10th and final 2008 Rugby League World Cup place beating Lebanon 38–16 at the Chris Moyles Stadium, Featherstone. [1]

For the 2008 Rugby League World Cup tournament Samoa's main jersey sponsor was the Samoa International Finance Authority.

Samoa took on Tonga and Ireland in the Tournament's pool stages. They beat their Pacific rivals 20–12, but they then lost to the Irish by 34–16. This big losing margin, sent the Samoans into battle against the French in the Tournament's 9th place play-off. Samoa easily won, winning 42–10 and capping off an undesirable World Cup Tournament.

2013 Pacific Rugby League Test

Main article: Pacific Rugby League International § 2013 test

In April 2013, Samoa took on Tonga in the '2013 Pacific Rugby League Test' at Penrith Stadium. The International was created as a World Cup warm-up match. Tonga targeted Samoa's weak defence, and it paid off, thrashing the Toa Samoans by 36–4.

Matt Parish era (2013– Present )

Australian Matt Parish was appointed head coach ahead of the 2013 World Cup. [2] In the group stage, Samoa lost to New Zealand 42–24, and defeated Papua New Guinea 38–4 and France 22–6. They lost the quarter-final to Fiji 22–4.

In May 2014, Samoa defeated Fiji 32–16 in a one-off Test match to qualify for the 2014 Four Nations. In the Four Nations, Samoa was the fourth nation and the underdogs against rugby league's three big heavyweight nations England, New Zealand and Australia. But they proved that they were anything but underdogs, losing to England by six points in a sea-sawing battle, and they were within four minutes of creating rugby league history by beating New Zealand. By the final round, Samoa still had a chance to qualify for the final, making this Four Nations the toughest ever. This Samoan performance added credential to the rugby league game showing that the game is not all about the big three. An annual series against New Zealand was proposed to run likewise to Australia's State of Origin series. [3]

In May 2015, Samoa took on Tonga. The game was an absolute thriller with the lead alternating between the teams and the biggest margin throughout the match was only 6 points. Samoa won 18–16. The following year, in May 2016, Samoa defeated Tonga 18–12.

Samoa were winless at the 2017 World Cup, losing 38–8 to New Zealand and 32–18 Tonga, and drawing 14–14 with Scotland. However, due to the tournament structure, they advanced to the knock-out stage thanks to the draw. [4] [5] In the quarter-final, Samoa lost 46–0 to defending champions Australia. [6] Former rugby league players Reni Maitua and Willie Mason were heavily critical of the team after the tournament, claiming the players were staying up late at night and had no respect for coach Matt Parish. [7]

In February 2021, it was reported that 34 current and former Samoan players had co-signed a letter to Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi requesting for Parish to be removed as coach, citing a lack of professionalism and success. Parish responded by claiming the players were coerced to sign the letter. [8] In May 2021, Andrew Johns, Matthew Johns and Sonny Bill Williams voiced interest to jointly coach Samoa at the 2021 World Cup. [9] [10] Rugby League Samoa affirmed Parish would remain as head coach for the tournament in a statement. [11] NRL.com noted that Samoa has approximately 85 NRL players to choose from in 2021, more than is available for the successful Tongan (60) and Fijian (40) teams, [12] however, according to reports, there are some players not willing to represent Samoa under the current coaching set-up. [13] [14]

Samoa performing the Siva Tau against France at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup
Samoa performing the Siva Tau against England at the 2021 Rugby League World Cup

In October 2022, Samoa opened the 2021 Men's Rugby League World Cup against host nation England. Despite high expectations for Samoa, due to high profile players such as Penrith Panthers premiership winning trio Jarome Luai, Brian To'o, and Stephen Crichton pledging allegiance to Samoa over Australia, Samoa went on to lose the match in embarrassing fashion, 60-6.

Samoa rebounded from the loss in the competition opener with big wins over Greece and France, 72-4 and 62-4 respectively.

Samoa qualified for the finals, coming second place in their pool behind England, and went on to face rivals Mate Ma'a Tonga in the quarter-finals. Samoa would go on to win the match despite a late resurgence from Tonga to win 20-18, qualifying for their first ever world cup semi final.

Samoa would face England in the semi-final, who they lost their first match against. In a back and forth encounter, the scores were tied at 20-20 with less than 8 minutes to go in the match but Stephen Crichton would intercept a pass from Victor Radley running more than 60 metres to score a try to put Samoa ahead. Several minutes later, with just 3 minutes left in the match, England halfback George Williams broke Samoas defence and passed to Herbie Farnworth who would complete a 90 metre long try, taking the score to 26-24. Tommy Makinson would then kick the conversion to tie the match. With the scores tied at 26-26, the match went to Golden Point, with England receiving the ball first. Jack Welsby made an error giving Samoa the ball, which would lead to an Anthony Milford field goal attempt but missed. England received the ball again but a Sam Tomkins error would give the ball back to Samoa once again and Stephen Chrichton kicked the field goal to win the match, 27-26. Sending Samoa to their first ever World Cup final against Australia, and just the fifth team to qualify for the final. (Great Britain, England, France, New Zealand)

Identity

Kit

Samoa's kit consists of a blue jersey with usually a white V on the chest, paired with blue shorts and socks.

Kit suppliers

Since 2021, Samoa's kits are currently supplied by Classic Sportswear. Former suppliers were FI-TA (2013-2021), SAS (2006–2013), SportM (1995–2000), Zeus (1992–1995) and Adidas (1990–1992).

Sponsors

The current sponsors are Pacifcast.

Former sponsors were DB Bitter (1992–1996), Yazaki (Rugby League World Cup 2000), SIFA.WS (2008–2015), Investsamoa.ws, and Vailima.

Players

Current squad

The Samoa national team for the 2023 Pacific Rugby League Championships.

Player Caps Points Club
Jesse Arthars 0 0 Australia Brisbane Broncos
Daejarn Asi 0 0 Australia Parramatta Eels
Gordon Chan Kum Tong 0 0 Australia Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Stephen Crichton 3 44 Australia Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Sualauvi Fa'alogo 0 0 Australia Melbourne Storm
Royce Hunt 2 4 Australia Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Luciano Leilua 2 4 Australia North Queensland Cowboys
Connelly Lemuelu 0 0 Australia Dolphins (NRL)
Spencer Leniu 3 0 Australia Penrith Panthers
Heilum Luki 0 0 Australia North Queensland Cowboys
Greg Marzhew 0 0 Australia Newcastle Knights
Justin Matamua 0 0 Australia Wests Tigers
Terrell May 0 0 Australia Sydney Roosters
Karl Oloapu 0 0 Australia Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Keenan Palasia 1 0 Australia Brisbane Broncos
Junior Paulo 12 12 Australia Parramatta Eels
Izack Tago 2 8 Australia Penrith Panthers
Murray Taulagi 0 0 Australia North Queensland Cowboys
Young Tonumaipea 5 4 Australia Melbourne Storm
Brian To'o 4 12 Australia Penrith Panthers
Stefano Utoikamanu 0 0 Australia Wests Tigers

Notable players and coaches

Records

  • Bold- denotes that the player is still active.

Most capped players

# Name Career Caps
1 Tim Lafai 2013-2022 18
2 Leeson Ah Mau 2013-2017 16
3 Ben Roberts 2008-2017 15
Pita Godinet 2013-2018 15
Joey Leilua 2013-2019 15
Junior Paulo 2016-2022 15
7 Anthony Milford 2013-2022 13
8 Joseph Paulo 2007-2010, 2017-2018 12
9 George Carmont 2006–2010 11
Martin Taupau 2013, 2019-2022 11
Josh Papali'i 2017, 2022 11
Jarome Luai 2017-2022 11

Top try scorers

# Name Career Tries
1 Tim Lafai 2013-2022 9
2 George Carmont 2006–2010 7
Antonio Winterstein 2013–2016 7
4 Daniel Vidot 2013-2015 6
Taylan May 2022 6

Top points scorers

# Name Career Points Tries Goals Field Goals
1 Stephen Crichton 2022 73 4 28 1
2 Tim Lafai 2013-2022 50 9 7 0
3 Anthony Milford 2013-2022 46 4 15 0
4 Ben Roberts 2008-2017 36 5 8 0
5 Joseph Paulo 2007-2010, 2017-2018 34 1 15 0

Competitive Record

All-time records

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost % Won Year/s
  American Samoa 1 1 0 0 100% 1994
  Australia 4 0 0 4 0% 2000–2022
Australian Aborigines 3 3 0 0 100% 1990–1994
  Cook Islands 7 5 0 2 71% 1986–2009
  England 5 1 0 4 20% 2006–2022
England England Knights 1 0 0 1 0% 2013
  Fiji 11 4 0 7 36% 1992–2019
  France 5 4 0 1 80% 1995–2022
  Greece 1 1 0 0 100% 2022
  Ireland 2 0 0 2 0% 2000–2008
  Lebanon 1 1 0 0 100% 2007
  New Caledonia 1 1 0 0 100% 2004
  New Zealand 4 0 0 4 0% 2010–2017
  Māori 6 2 0 4 33% 1986–2004
  Niue 3 3 0 0 100% 1990–2004
  Papua New Guinea 2 2 0 0 100% 2013–2019
  Rotuma 1 1 0 0 100% 1994
  Scotland 2 1 1 0 50% 2000-2017
  Tokelau 4 3 0 1 75% 1986–2006
  Tonga 22 10 1 11 50% 1986–2022
  United States 1 1 0 0 100% 2007
  Wales 1 1 0 0 100% 1995
Total 88 45 2 41 51% 1986–

World Cup

World Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
France 1954 did not enter
Australia 1957
England 1960
Australia New Zealand 1968
England 1970
France 1972
1975
Australia New Zealand 1977
1985-88
1989-92
England 1995 Group stage 5/10 2 1 1 0
United Kingdom Ireland France 2000 Quarter-finals 8/16 4 2 2 0
Australia 2008 Group stage 9/10 2 1 1 0
England Wales 2013 Quarter-finals 5/14 4 2 2 0
Australia New Zealand Papua New Guinea 2017 Quarter-finals 8/14 4 0 3 1
England 2021 Runners Up 2/16 6 4 2 0
(TBD) 2026 Qualified
Total 0 Titles 6/16 22 10 11 1

Four Nations

Four Nations record
Year Round Position GP W L D
England France 2009 Not Invited
Australia New Zealand 2010 Failed to Qualify
England Wales 2011 Not Invited
Australia New Zealand 2014 Fourth Place 4/4 3 0 3 0
England 2016 Not Invited
Total 0 Titles 1/5 3 0 3 0

Pacific Cup

Pacific Cup record
Year Round Position GP W L D
Cook Islands 1986 Second Place 2/6 5 3 2 0
Samoa 1988 Second Place 2/6 4 3 1 0
Tonga 1990 Champions 1/8 5 5 0 0
New Zealand 1992 Champions 1/10 6 6 0 0
Fiji 1994 Third Place 3/10 6 5 1 0
New Zealand 1997 Not Invited
New Zealand 2004 Group stage 5/6 2 1 1 0
New Zealand 2006 Group stage 6/6 3 0 3 0
Papua New Guinea 2009 Quarter-finals 5/5 1 0 1 0
Total 2 Titles 8/12 32 23 9 0

IRL Rankings

IRL Men's World Rankings
Official rankings as of 21 December 2023
Rank Change Team Pts %
1 Steady   Australia 100.00
2 Steady   New Zealand 91.00
3 Increase 1   England 74.00
4 Decrease 1   Samoa 70.00
5 Steady   Tonga 54.00
6 Steady   Papua New Guinea 50.00
7 Steady   Fiji 49.00
8 Increase 1   France 24.00
9 Decrease 1   Lebanon 24.00
10 Increase 3   Cook Islands 22.00
11 Decrease 1   Serbia 19.00
12 Increase 6   Netherlands 17.00
13 Increase 1   Italy 15.00
14 Increase 5   Malta 15.00
15 Increase 1   Greece 14.00
16 Decrease 4   Ireland 14.00
17 Decrease 6   Wales 13.00
18 Decrease 3   Jamaica 10.00
19 Decrease 2   Scotland 9.00
20 Increase 8   Ukraine 7.00
21 Increase 6   Czech Republic 7.00
22 Decrease 1   Germany 6.00
23 Increase 10   Philippines 6.00
24 Increase 5   Poland 6.00
25 Increase 1   South Africa 5.00
26 Decrease 4   Chile 5.00
27 Increase 4   Kenya 0.00
28 Increase 6   Norway 4.00
29 Decrease 6   Nigeria 4.00
30 Decrease 6   Ghana 4.00
31 Decrease 6   Brazil 4.00
32 Decrease 12   Turkey 3.00
33 Increase 4   United States 3.00
34 Increase 1   Bulgaria 3.00
35 Decrease 5   Cameroon 2.00
36 Increase 2   Montenegro 2.00
37 Decrease 5   Spain 2.00
38 Increase 6   Japan 1.00
39 New entry   Albania 1.00
40 Decrease 4   Colombia 1.00
41 Increase 6   El Salvador 1.00
42 New entry   North Macedonia 1.00
43 Decrease 1   Morocco 1.00
44 Decrease 3   Sweden 0.00
45 Steady   Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.00
46 Decrease 3   Canada 0.00
47 New entry   Niue 0.00
48 Decrease 9   Solomon Islands 0.00
49 Decrease 1   Belgium 0.00
50 Decrease 10   Hungary 0.00
51 Decrease 5   Vanuatu 0.00
52 Decrease 3   Argentina 0.00
53 Decrease 3   Denmark 0.00
54 Decrease 3   Latvia 0.00
55 New entry   Estonia 0.00
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

See also

References

  1. ^ "Samoa beats Lebanon to be last team in league world cup". Courier Mail. 14 November 2007. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
  2. ^ "Matt Parish appointed as head coach of Samoa for the World Cup". Sky Sports. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  3. ^ Voss, Andrew (6 November 2014). "NZ v Samoa the new State of Origin?". NRL.com. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  4. ^ "Samoa draw with Scotland to advance in Rugby League World Cup". stuff.co.nz. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  5. ^ Mascord, Steve (13 November 2017). "Rugby League World Cup: Ireland miss quarters while winless Samoa go through". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  6. ^ Davidson, John (17 November 2017). "Valentine Holmes scores five tries as Australia trounce Samoa in Rugby League World Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  7. ^ "NRL grand final to be played at SCG in 2020, Samoan players slammed". Fox Sports. 23 November 2017.
  8. ^ "Angry coach lashes out as Samoan players revolt". Daily Telegraph. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  9. ^ Otto, Tyson (3 May 2021). "Matthew Johns' incredible reveal for plan with brother Andrew". news.com.au. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  10. ^ Brunsdon, Simon (3 May 2021). "Matty Johns reveals plan to coach Samoa with brother Joey and SBW". Fox Sports. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  11. ^ Pengilly, Adam (3 May 2021). "Samoa shut down talk of coaching dream team featuring SBW and Johns brothers". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  12. ^ Walter, Brad (4 May 2021). "Parish open to Johns brothers, SBW joining Samoa coaching team". NRL.com. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  13. ^ McMurty, Andrew (5 May 2021). "Samoa reject Johns brothers coaching offer despite superstar offers". news.com.au. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  14. ^ Clarke, George (12 May 2021). "Fairytale that became a nightmare: Why NRL superstars lost faith in Samoan rugby league". Fox Sports. Retrieved 12 May 2021.

External links

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