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Subscribe to RSS FeedSamoa Country Profile
Samoa coach Michael Jones
Home stadium: Apia Park Stadium (15,000)
Nickname: Manu Samoa
Number of rugby players: 21,995
Website: www.manusamoa.com.ws
National champions: Upolu Samoa
Strengths: Known for their raw talent, Samoa are strong in the tackle and tend to peak when playing simple rather than technical rugby.
Weaknesses: While coach Michael Jones has injected plenty of thought during his time as coach of Samoa, they still lack the technical and tactical nous of the better sides. Hence they have a tendency to struggle in set-pieces, where they often fail to win possession against the leading rugby nations from scrummage and line-out.
History: 1987 - did not qualify, 1991 - quarter-finals, 1995 - quarter-finals, 1999 - quarter-final play-offs, 2003 - group stages.
Prediction: Lumped in a group with defending champions England and South Africa, it's highly unlikely that Samoa will get beyond the group stage, yet not impossible. England could be their surprise victims.
Coach: Michael Jones scored the first try at both the 1987 and 1991 World Cups as an openside flanker who played the game at a high intensity for New Zealand. A devout christian, he was once asked how he could hit tackles so hard, and in reply he quoted the biblical phrase 'it is better to give than receive'. Retired as a player in 1998, and replaced fellow Kiwi John Boe in the Samoan hotseat in April 2004. He is regarded as being a Samoan New Zealander.
Key player: Brian Lima may be 35, but he is widely-regarded as Samoa's best ever player and is set to compete in his fifth World Cup - an all-time record. Thus the winger's experience will be crucial if Samoa are to keep their heads and pull off a surprise defeat of England or South Africa and reach the next round. With 10 of his 31 international tries coming at the World Cup, he's also the most likely man to break defensive lines and put points on the board.
Captain: Semo Sititi, 33, has been captaining the side since Pat Lam's retirement following the 1999 World Cup. The flanker therefore has plenty of experience in the role, though he's never quite set the world alight as a player.
Rising star: Alesana Tuilagi goes into the World Cup on the back of an awesome season for Leicester Tigers, during which he played in three finals and picked up the Members' Player of the Season. A lightning-fast winger with plenty of weight behind him, Tuilagi has emerged as Samoa's latest product in the Jonah Lomu mould and a natural successor to Lima.
Team nemesis: While Fiji and Tonga are their local rivals, it is England who have heated the blood in recent times after Samoa gave them a real run for their money in the last World Cup, nearly causing a huge upset. Then in November 2005 the two sides enjoyed a mass punch-up at Twickenham as tempers boiled over when Alesana Tuilagi took Mark Cueto out in mid-air five minutes from the end. So we can certainly expect plenty of heat when the two sides go head-to-head in Group A.
Likely headlines: 'Lolo and Lima lick the Boks', 'Elvis rocks the USA', 'Siu next time Tonga'
Price of a pint: E2.97
Player/sheep ratio: The only record of sheep in Samoa relates to a flock of 44 from Fiji, who created an outcry over ownership and rights when several ewes gave birth en route. However, according to an old census, there are 1094 goats, giving a player-to-goat ratio of 20 to 1.
