The Samoa national rugby union team represents Samoa in men's international rugby union competitions. They are governed by Samoa Rugby Union and also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. 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.
Rugby was introduced to Samoa in the 1890s but a governing body was not formed for some years, and neither was a club competition organised until after World War I. 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.
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History
The history of Samoan rugby is filled with provably untrue myths and legends. Among them are that the Marist Brothers brought rugby to Western Samoa in 1924 and The Western Samoa Rugby Football Union was formed in 1924. Another is that a large tree was growing in the middle of the Apia Park pitch when Samoa played its first test in 1924.
The man who brought rugby to Samoa was a New Zealand surveyor, Norman Macdonald, who arrived in the country in 1892. He organised games on an ad-hoc basis, often against crews from visiting ships. Native Samoans were encouraged to play right from the start, and did so. During the German colonial era these games still happened on an irregular basis, but the arrival of New Zealand troops in the early stages of World War I meant rugby wasn't far behind.
The first match for which a score has been preserved was played in 1918 between the Garrison and a Home XV, which the soldiers won 13-6. Club rugby began in 1923 when four clubs - Barbarians, Nomads, Rovers and United - contested the first championship. Matches were played at Pilot Point, and that ground did have a tree inside the playing area; the newspaper reports often mentioned it. By the end of that season development work was beginning at Apia Park; the ground was levelled and a football pitch was prepared, cleared of all weeds and made up to international size.
On 18 August 1924, Western Samoa played its first international against Fiji in the capital Apia, the visitors winning 6–0. The match was played at 7 am to allow the Samoans time to get to work afterwards and the ship taking the Fijian team to Tonga to make its sailing time. The return match, a month later, was won 9–3 by Samoa.
The Apia Rugby Union was formed in 1927, with eight clubs, and affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Union that year. The Western Samoa Rugby Union wasn't formed as the governing body until 1958.
Club rugby changed formats in 1936, becoming a mercantile competition with business house teams replacing the village sides. This carried on until 1940, when the game closed down during World War II. It was resumed in 1946 and had another brief hiatus until a full club competition was played in 1953; this has run uninterrupted since.
Overall record
Below is a table of the representative rugby matches played by a Samoa national XV at test level up until 18 July 2026, updated after match with Romania.
World Cup record
In one of the scenes of the feature film, Invictus, Western Samoa can be seen playing South Africa in the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Pacific Nations Cup
Samoa previously competed in the Pacific Tri-Nations winning 11 tournaments. The Pacific Nations Cup replaced the Tri-Nations tournament in 2006. Samoa have won four tournaments.
Wins against Tier 1 nations
Samoa have recorded 17 wins against tier 1 nations. In addition, Samoa drew with Scotland 15–15 on the 18 November 1995 at Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Players
Current squad
On 4 June, Samoa named a 32-player squad ahead of the 2026 World Rugby Nations Cup Americas-Pacific Series.
Caps updated: 18 July 2026 (after Samoa v Romania)
Head coach: Tusi Pisi
Note: Flags indicate national union for the club/province as defined by World Rugby.
Player records
Most caps
Last updated: United States vs Samoa, 21 September 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.
Most tries
Last updated: United States vs Samoa, 21 September 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.
Most points
Last updated: United States vs Samoa, 21 September 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.
Most matches as captain
Last updated: Samoa vs Belgium, 18 November 2025. Statistics include officially capped matches only.
Most points in a match
Last updated: United States vs Samoa, 21 September 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.
Most tries in a match
Last updated: United States vs Samoa, 21 September 2024. Statistics include officially capped matches only.
Current Coaches
Tusi Pisi (Head Coach)
Kane Thompson (Lineout and Skills)
Census Johnston (Scrum and Forwards)
Tai Lavea (Defence)
New Zealand connection
Western Samoa's triumph in the 1991 Rugby World Cup was inspired by their assistant coach Bryan Williams, who was a New Zealand-born (of Samoan descent) All Black great of the 1970s. The 1991 Samoan World Cup team included many New Zealand born or raised players; the catalyst was Auckland prop Peter Fatialofa, who in 1989, became the first major New Zealand-based player to play for Samoa. By the time of the 1991 World Cup several other New Zealand-born Samoans like Pat Lam, Stephen Bachop, Frank Bunce and Apollo Perelini had joined him. New Zealand born players with Samoan parentage have played for Samoa, such as Earl Va'a, Pat Lam and Lome Fa'atau.
The rugby relationship that exists between New Zealand and Samoa is a complex one. Close ties exist between the two countries, these bonds first being formed with the start of mass Polynesian migration to New Zealand in the latter half of the twentieth century. At the 2007 World Cup, there were 14 New Zealand-born players in the Samoan squad. The only team with more foreign born players in their squad was Italy who had 15.
Strips
Manu Samoa play in blue and white uniforms, with the home strip consisting of blue jerseys, white shorts and blue socks and the away kit being with the colours reversed. Since 2007, the flag of Samoa has been featured on the left sleeve and pe'a-like patterns were incorporated into the jerseys. Sponsored logos appear on jerseys for matches other than the Rugby World Cup, where branding, except for equipment manufacturers, is not allowed.