Samoa 7s
Samoa 7s v
Wikipedia - Samoa national rugby sevens team
The Samoa national rugby sevens team, referred to as Samoa Sevens or Manu Samoa 7s, competes in the annual World Rugby Sevens Series. Representing the polynesian country of Samoa, with a population of about 202,000, the team competes against some of the wealthiest countries in the world. The Samoa sevens team is overseen by the Samoa Rugby Football Union, which oversees all of rugby union in Samoa.
Samoa won the 2009–10 World Series by winning four tournaments – the Hong Kong Sevens, the USA Sevens, the Adelaide Sevens, and the Edinburgh Sevens. Samoa has played at all Rugby World Cup Sevens finals tournaments since the championship began in 1993; its best finish was third place in 1997 and again in 2007.
Samoa has won four Oceania Sevens titles since the first competition in 2008. They have 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.
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, Rev - Andrew Leavasa (USA), Salafuti Patu and others. Samoa won the 1993 Hong Kong Sevens.