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| Lakapi Samoa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
| Founded | 1924 |
| World Rugby affiliation | 1988 |
| President | Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi |
| Men's coach | Seilala Mapusua |
| Website | http://www.lakapisamoa.com |
Rugby Samoa (Samoan: Lakapi Samoa) is the governing body of the sport of rugby union in Samoa. Founded as the Apia Rugby Union in 1924, it was affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Football Union the same year.[1] It joined the International Rugby Board as the Western Samoa Rugby Football Union in 1988. In 1997, when Western Samoa amended its constitution to change the country's name from Western Samoa to Samoa, the union also changed its name, and dropped the word football to become the Samoa Rugby Union. In November 2020, they changed their name to Lakapi Samoa which is Samoan for Rugby Samoa.[2] They were formerly members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Tonga.[3] The union is also a member of the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU).
There are 12 provincial unions made up of around 120 clubs and boasting nearly 5,000 senior and twice as many junior players in a country with a population of just under 175,000 people.
The main domestic tournament is the Samoa National Provincial Championship.
- ^ Jones, p10
- ^ Von Dincklage, Vaelei (30 November 2020). "Samoa Rugby Union rebranded as Lakapi Samoa". Samoa Observer. Apia, Samoa. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ "We quit: SRU". www.samoaobserver.ws. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2017.