Manu Samoa

The announcement was made by Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy at his final address to conclude his first visit to Samoa yesterday.

“Rugby is an integral part of Samoa and Australia’s national identities and a symbol of the shared love of sports between the two nations. This Australian Government funding recognises our shared love of rugby, and the power of sports to bring our people together. Australia’s Pacific AusSports Initiative also assists other sporting codes including netball, cricket and rugby league.”

This is after the team went down to Fiji 19-24 in the bronze final.

Last minute tries to duo Joseva Talacolo and Terio Tamani saved Fiji from the jaws of defeat to claim third place in Singapore.

Fiji was down 7-19 with Samoa looking dominant and on course for its second win over the national side in Singapore.

Tamani put Fiji first on the board before Samoa hit back with three tries to Vaa Apelu Maliko, Tuna Tuitama and Taunuu Niulevaea.

Iowane Teba reignited Fiji’s hope before Talacolo and Tamani sealed it at the last minute of play.

The Pacific neighbours will face-off on Friday, 31 March, at 8.28pm (Samoa Time).

A day later, the Brian Lima coached side will take on Argentina before their final pool game against Canada.

The first cup quarter-final match is at 3.02pm (Samoa Time) on 2 April.

Fiji is yet to win a tournament on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series this year and sits on fourth place on the points table.

Samoa is currently in sixth place.

The Brian Lima coached side now has 81 points behind Fiji, who’s in fourth place with 84 points.

New Zealand continues to lead the series with 107 points ahead of Argentina in second place with 86 points.

South Africa is in third place with 86 points too.

Only the top four teams in the 2022/2023 Series plus hosts France will earn automatic qualification to next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

The 27-year-old has been awarded DHL Impact Player in five out of the total of six games they played altogether.

Scanlan scored two tries and kicked a total of nine conversions in Los Angeles.

In this season of the World Sevens Series, he has played a total of 31 matches, scored a total of 16 tries, kicked 25 conversions and received one yellow card.

The side won 24-19 in the 5th place play off against Great Britain.

Samoa got off to a strong start after scoring the first try of the game through Paul Eti Slater in the first minute before scoring the second try through Melani Matavao.

Great Britain fought back scoring a try through Freddie Roddick but that was not enough as Samoa bounced back with a try through Vaa Apelu Maliko to help them lead 19-7at halftime.

Great Britain displayed a great start in the second half scoring two consecutive tries before Samoa scored the final try of the match to seal the win.

This is after they went down to Argentina 12-19 in the cup quarterfinal.

Both teams displayed tough competition after Argentina opened the scoreboard with a try in the first two minutes.

Samoa wasted no time and came back to score a try through Tuna Tuitama in the next minute.

Argentina scored another try to extend their lead 14-7 at halftime.

Samoa then started the second half with a try but it was not long when Argentina bounced back with another try to seal the victory.

The game got off to a tough start after both teams were locked with a try each at half time.

Samoa however converted their try from Tanu Levaea, which gave them a 7-5 lead at half time.

The try from Chile was scored by Ernesto Tchimino.

Samoa dominated the entire second half with a total of four tries from Tuna Tuitama, Paul Eti Slater, Owen Niue and Vaovasa Afa Sua.

Samoa will play New Zealand in their last pool game at 1:30pm (Samoa Time).

The upcoming legs are the Los Angeles and Vancouver 7s.

The Brian Lima coached side is currently ranked 3rd place after the five tournaments of the HSBC World Sevens series.

The travelling team has not yet been named but there are a few injuries after Hamilton and Sydney.

Manu Samoa confirmed speedster Steve Rimoni Onosai is still recovering from an ankle injury.

Lima has retained the same team that travelled to South Africa with the exception of skipper Melani Matavao returning from injury, forcing Pelosi “Jimmy” Taupo to miss out.

The change was confirmed in the naming of the 14-member side today.

The forward trio of Uaina Sione, and Co-Captains Vaovasa Afa-Su’a and Vaafauese Apelu-Maliko all return.

They are joined by 21-year-old power forwards Motu Opetai and Taunuu Niulevaea who have both started 8 and 5 matches respectively this season.