Faleomavaega Vincent Fepuleai

Samoa Rugby CEO Faleomavaega Vincent Fepuleai said the Brian’s appointment was endorsed by the Board this week and he is a key appointment for new Head Coach Damian McGrath (England).

“We are hugely excited about Brian’s appointment, and we are delighted to have him and Damian lead our Sevens programme into a new era.

“I know that Brian is excited and eager to work alongside and learn from a quality coach like Damian.

“What is clear is that we now have a coaching team that has both the energy, enthusiasm and skillset to move Samoa up the ladder on the World Series.

The agreement is a first between a Tier 2 union and it's elite players, with both parties committing to increased communication, transparency and consultation on issues that affect players.

There will also be certainty for players regarding assembly fees for camps and games.

SRU Chief Executive Faleomavaega Vincent Fepuleai says it shows that the union and players both want Samoa Rugby to be the best it can be and for the players to feel strongly committed to contributing to that.

Eight people were interviewed by an independant panel, with 29 having initially applied for the vacancy.

Among the candidates is interim coach Fata'ali'i Milovale, former Fijian sevens great Waisale Serevi, former Manu Samoa international Muliagatele Brian Lima, and 2010 World Series winning playmaker Uale Ma'i.

SRU Chief Executive Officer Faleomavaega Vincent Fepuleai says the main goal is qualifying for next year's Rio Olympics.

Two days of intensive interviews with high profile applicants from Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa were completed last Friday.

Legendary names such as top Sevens points scorer and former English Sevens skipper Ben Collings, Sevens maestro Waisale Serevi and Samoa’s Brian Lima have been floated as some of the applicants.

The Samoa Rugby Union is in a desperate position and running out of time as the players who made the national team showed their skills in the recent Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea with a very disappointing result.

The Manu Samoa team threatened to boycott a test match against England in November over concerns about the governance and management of the SRU.

Since then a new CEO, General Manager and High Performance Manager have been appointed.

The Union also committed to implementing governance, management and financial reforms, recommended in an independent review.

The chief executive officer Faleomavaega Vincent Fepuleai says the relationship between players and the SRU is improving.

Chief Executive Officer Faleomavaega Vincent Fepuleai confirmed expenses for the Apia test, including training camps, player allowances, travel and accommodation, amounted to 3.4 million Tala, or 1.3 million US dollars.

Faleomavaega says the Union had expected to balance the books but only collected 1.9 million Tala in revenue (US$580,000).