Samoa national rugby league team

Samoa

Team information
Nickname	Toa Samoa
Governing body	Rugby League Samoa
Region	Asia-Pacific
Head coach	Ben Gardiner
Captain	Jarome Luai
Most caps	Tim Lafai (18)
Top try-scorer	Tim Lafai (9)
Top point-scorer	Stephen Crichton (77)
IRL ranking	4th
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
Appearances	6 (first time in 1995)
Best result	Runners-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).

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 Kaiser.

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 Kaiser, 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 Kaiser 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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]

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)

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

Since 2023, Samoa's kits are currently supplied by Dynasty Sport. Former suppliers were Classic Sportswear (2022), FI-TA (2013-2021), SAS (2006–2013), SportM (1995–2000), Zeus (1992–1995) and Adidas (1990–1992).

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.

The Samoa national team for the 2024 tour of England was announced on 9 October 2024.^[15] Jarome Luai was appointed captain.
Statistics in the table include the Second Test against England.

Player	Date of birth (age)	Position(s)	Caps	Club
John Asiata	(1993-04-19) 19 April 1993 (age 31)	Lock	3	Leigh Leopards
Shawn Blore	(2000-08-01) 1 August 2000 (age 24)	Second-row	2	Melbourne Storm
Gordon Chan Kum Tong	(2002-01-03) 3 January 2002 (age 22)	Hooker	4	Manly Sea Eagles
Luciano Leilua	(1996-06-08) 8 June 1996 (age 28)	Second-row	5	St. George Illawarra
Ricky Leutele	(1990-04-10) 10 April 1990 (age 34)	Centre	7	Leigh Leopards
Jarome Luai	(1997-01-16) 16 January 1997 (age 27)	Five-eighth	13	Penrith Panthers
Deine Mariner	(2003-04-25) 25 April 2003 (age 21)	Wing, Centre	2	Brisbane Broncos
Terrell May	(1999-04-29) 29 April 1999 (age 25)	Prop	4	Sydney Roosters
Anthony Milford	(1994-07-11) 11 July 1994 (age 30)	Five-eighth	14	Dolphins (NRL)
Francis Molo	(1994-09-03) 3 September 1994 (age 30)	Prop	3	St. George Illawarra
Jeremiah Nanai	(2003-02-18) 18 February 2003 (age 21)	Second-row	2	North Qld Cowboys
Josiah Pahulu	(2004-05-04) 4 May 2004 (age 20)	Prop	0	Gold Coast Titans
Keenan Palasia	(1997-01-24) 24 January 1997 (age 27)	Prop	4	Gold Coast Titans
Junior Pauga	(1996-02-03) 3 February 1996 (age 28)	Wing, Centre	2	Sydney Roosters
Paul Roache	(1998-12-29) 29 December 1998 (age 25)	Hooker	0	NZ Warriors
Simi Sasagi	(2001-04-24) 24 April 2001 (age 23)	Second-row, Centre	1	Canberra Raiders
Jeral Skelton	(1999-04-08) 8 April 1999 (age 25)	Wing	2	Canterbury Bulldogs
Izack Tago	(2002-04-05) 5 April 2002 (age 22)	Centre	5	Penrith Panthers
Jake Tago	(1999-02-10) 10 February 1999 (age 25)	Wing	0	Parramatta Eels
Blaize Talagi	(2005-03-16) 16 March 2005 (age 19)	Centre, Wing	2	Parramatta Eels
Jazz Tevaga	(1995-09-04) 4 September 1995 (age 29)	Lock, Prop	7	NZ Warriors
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	(1993-06-05) 5 June 1993 (age 31)	Fullback	2	NZ Warriors
Lazarus Vaalepu	(1999-03-19) 19 March 1999 (age 25)	Prop	2	Melbourne Storm

Notes:

• Four members of the squad have previously played for other nations: Asiata Tonga and Tonga Invitational XIII (one match each, in 2019); Molo Cook Islands (2015–16); Nanai Australia (2022), and Tuivasa-Sheck New Zealand (2013–2019).
• Four members have played in State of Origin matches: Luai for NSW and Milford, Molo, and Nanai for Queensland. Milford also played for the Prime Minister's XIII in 2014.
• Three members have played for the Māori All Stars: Luai, Palasia, and Tevaga.

This article may contain unverified or indiscriminate information in embedded lists. Please help clean up the lists by removing items or incorporating them into the text of the article. (November 2014)

• Bold- denotes that the player is still active.

#	Name	Career	Caps
1	Tim Lafai	2013-2022	18
2	Junior Paulo	2016-	17
3	Leeson Ah Mau	2013-2017	16
4	Ben Roberts	2008-2017	15
	Pita Godinet	2013-2018	15
	Joey Leilua	2013-2019	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-	11

#	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

#	Name	Career	Points	Tries	Goals	Field Goals
1	Stephen Crichton	2022-	77	4	30	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

Opponent	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	% Won	Year/s
American Samoa	1	1	0	0	100%	1994
Australia	5	0	0	5	0%	2000–2023
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 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
Rotorua	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	42	51%	1986–

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

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

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

Attendance	Opposing team	Venue	Tournament
67,502	Australia	Old Trafford, Manchester	2021 Rugby League World Cup Final
47,813	England	Lang Park, Brisbane	2014 Rugby League Four Nations
43,119	England	St James' Park, Newcastle	2021 Rugby League World Cup
40,489	England	Ashburton Grove, London	2021 Rugby League World Cup Semi-Final
25,257	Fiji	Eden Park, Auckland	2019 Oceania Cup Group B

Attendance	Opposing team	Venue	Tournament
67,502	Australia	Old Trafford, Manchester	2021 Rugby League World Cup Final
47,813	England	Lang Park, Brisbane	2014 Rugby League Four Nations
25,257	Fiji	Eden Park, Auckland	2019 Oceania Cup Group B
23,264	New Zealand	Eden Park, Auckland	2023 Pacific Championships
18,156	Tonga	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	2017 Rugby League World Cup
15,385	Wales	Vetch Field, Swansea	1995 Rugby League World Cup
11,576	France	Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan	2013 Rugby League World Cup
10,515	Cook Islands	Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney	2022 Samoa vs Cook Islands
8,602	Ireland	Parramatta Stadium, Sydney	2008 Rugby League World Cup
8,408	Papua New Guinea	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney	2019 Oceania Cup Group B
4,309	Scotland	Barlow Park, Cairns	2017 Rugby League World Cup
4,115	Greece	Doncaster Community Stadium, Doncaster	2021 Rugby League World Cup
4,107	Māori	Derwent Park, Workington	2000 Rugby League World Cup
1,323	Lebanon	Post Office Road, Featherstone	2008 Rugby League World Cup – Pacific Qualifying Final
753	United States	Halton Stadium, Widnes	2008 Rugby League World Cup – Pacific Qualifying

IRL Men's World Rankings v t e
Official rankings as of 30 June 2024
Rank	Change	Team	Pts %
1		Australia	100
2		New Zealand	82
3		England	80
4		Samoa	67
5		Tonga	49
6	1	Fiji	47
7	1	Papua New Guinea	46
8		France	28
9		Lebanon	22
10		Cook Islands	20
11		Serbia	19
12		Netherlands	17
13		Italy	15
14	1	Greece	15
15	1	Malta	14
16		Ireland	14
17		Wales	13
18		Jamaica	10
19		Scotland	9
20		Ukraine	7
21		Czech Republic	7
22		Germany	6
23	3	Chile	6
24		Poland	6
25	3	Norway	6
26	1	Kenya	5
27	4	Philippines	5
28	3	South Africa	4
29		Nigeria	4
30		Ghana	4
31	2	United States	4
32	4	Montenegro	4
33	2	Brazil	3
34	2	Turkey	3
35	7	North Macedonia	3
36	2	Bulgaria	3
37	2	Cameroon	2
38	1	Spain	2
39	1	Japan	1
40	1	Albania	1
41	5	Canada	1
42	2	Colombia	1
43	2	El Salvador	1
44	1	Morocco	1
45		Russia	0
46	2	Sweden	0
47	2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0
48	2	Hungary	0
49	3	Argentina	0
50		Hong Kong	0
51	3	Solomon Islands	0
52	5	Niue	0
53	1	Latvia	0
54	1	Denmark	0
55	6	Belgium	0
56	1	Estonia	0
57	6	Vanuatu	0
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

• Rugby league in Samoa
• Samoa national rugby league team results
• Samoa women's national rugby league team

• Official site of Rugby League Samoa