Rugby union in Samoa
| Rugby union in Samoa | |
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| Country | Samoa |
| Governing body | Samoa Rugby Union |
| National team | Samoa |
| Nickname(s) | Manu Samoa |
| First played | 1920 |
| Registered players | 23,372 |
| Clubs | 140 |
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National competitions
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Club competitions
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Rugby union in Samoa is the country's most popular sport. The national teams in both the standard 15-man game and rugby sevens are consistently competitive against teams from vastly more populous nations.
Rugby union is governed by the Samoa Rugby Union who are also members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance.
Samoa were awarded 'second tier' status by the International Rugby Board which entitles them to funding from the IRB.
The Samoa Rugby Union was founded in 1924, as the "Apia Rugby Union", and affiliated to the NZRFU in the same year. As the Western Samoa Rugby Football Union, it joined the IRB in 1988. When Western Samoa amended its constitution to change the country's name from Western Samoa to Samoa, the union also changed its name, and dropped the word football to become the Samoa Rugby Union. The union is also a member of the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU).
The Marist Brothers brought the game to Samoa in 1920 and The Apia Rugby Union was formed in 1924.
On August 18, 1924 Western Samoa played its first international against Fiji in the capital Apia, the visitors winning 6-0.
The Pacific Tri-Nations series between Tonga, Fiji and Western Samoa was established in 1982.
The Western Samoa Rugby Football Union joined the International Rugby Board in 1988. Western Samoa played in the World Cup for the first time in 1991.
The Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) was set up in 2002 as a basis of co-operation between the Fiji Rugby Union, Samoa Rugby Union and Tonga Rugby Football Union.
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