Former All Black, Tana Umaga has been appointed as Defence Coach for the Manu Samoa team in the upcoming Rugby World Cup.
The 50 year-old was the assistant coach of the side that was undefeated throughout the tournament and defeated Fiji 23-20 in the final.
Umaga was also the Defence Coach in the Blues coaching set up after he was replaced by Leon MacDonald.
He was Head Coach of the Auckland based team between 2016 and 2018.
Umaga is among high profile former rugby players that have also been selected to be part of Samoa’s coaching set up.
Leading them as Head Coach is Seilala Mapusua, who has helped a lot in improving the standard of performance of the team after being selected for the role back in 2020.
This is after he was retired from rugby in 2016 and returned to New Zealand and worked as a Coaching Development Officer for Otago Rugby.
Mahonori Schwalger has been appointed as Scrum Coach for the side.
Schwalger made his debut for the Samoan national team in 2000 against Wales and developed into a fixture for the side, representing them at the 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups. Noted for his leadership skills, he served as team captain at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
He also played for Highlanders and the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby.
Former Chiefs loose forward, Tom Coventry is the team’s Forwards Coach.
Coventry has been an integral part of the Chiefs during their most successful times having won two Super Rugby titles. Coventry has also been involved with the Samoan squad as Co-Head Coach, a role he has held since 2011.
Andrew Goodman is the team’s Attack Coach.
He spent time as head coach of Tasman in the Bunnings NPC and assistant coach of the Crusaders in Super Rugby.
Former Samoan rugby player, Tusi Pisi has been appointed as the Back and Skills Coach of the team.
Pisi was a Samoan rugby union player who played for the Toyota Industries Shuttles in the Top Challenge League. His position is fly half, but he has also played at centre and full back. He is the current first choice flyhalf for the Samoa national team.
.In 2011, he signed with the Hurricanes for the 2012 Super Rugby season.
On 31 June 2015 Pisi represented the Barbarians FC against an England side at Twickenham Stadium.
In March 2016 Pisi signed a 2-year contract with Bristol Rugby starting from the 2016/2017 season. Pisi stayed at Bristol for 3 relatively successful seasons before joining Japanese side Toyota Industries Shuttles.