World Rugby statement: Stability of top-level Samoan rugby safeguarded by governance review

Following talks led by World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson and Samoa’s Prime Minister Hon. Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt, an action plan has been put in place to ensure the continued participation of the country’s national teams in top-level tournaments.

Differences between the union’s board and management and the Samoan government prompted a governance review, which has resulted in the union’s self-suspension from the World Rugby Council.

Control and jurisdiction of all matters relating to the high-performance rugby programme in Samoa has been transferred instead to the Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (SASNOC) with joint oversight from an appointed stewardship group.

Meanwhile, a Samoan-led Independent Review Group, the membership of which shall be agreed by Lakapi Samoa (the Samoan RU) and the Government of Samoa has been appointed, to review all issues pertaining to the governance of Samoan rugby.

Samoa’s men have played at every Rugby World Cup tournament since their debut in 1991, but they only just qualified for the 2027 edition in Australia next year by pocketing the 20th ticket to the tournament via the Final Qualification Tournament.

The team has slipped to an all-time low of 20th in the World Rugby Rankings against a backdrop of off-field problems and has only won one of its first three games in the World Rugby Nations Cup.

Last year, the Samoan women’s team struggled badly at their World Cup, scoring just three points and conceding 225 points after three heavy defeats.

The World Rugby statement reads: “World Rugby, the Government of Samoa, Lakapi Samoa and the Samoa National Olympic Committee have agreed a process to ensure Samoa and its players continue competing at the sport’s highest levels during a governance review. The agreement follows productive meetings in Apia this week led by World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson and Prime Minister of Samoa, Hon. Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt.

“The agreed steps address concerns about Lakapi Samoa’s governance and administration raised with World Rugby earlier this year by the Hon. Prime Minister on behalf of the Government. Those concerns, and those of other rugby stakeholders, prompted immediate dialogue between all parties to resolve the issues and agree a way forward.

“All parties agreed that it was imperative that the union’s high-performance programmes remain unaffected, with Samoa’s national teams committed to participating in Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027, the World Rugby Nations Cup, WXV Global Series Challenger and sevens programmes.”

In the words of World Rugby, the following interim measures will be implemented with immediate effect:

• The self-suspension of Lakapi Samoa from the World Rugby Council. This self-suspension can only be lifted by a future request to the Executive Board of World Rugby and a subsequent recommendation to the World Rugby Council. In any event, the self-suspension shall remain in place during the review processes referenced below.
• Appointment of a Samoan-led Independent Review Group, the membership of which shall be agreed by Lakapi Samoa and the Government of Samoa, to review all issues pertaining to the governance of Samoan rugby.
• A review of Lakapi Samoa’s compliance with World Rugby’s membership criteria by a World Rugby oversight committee.
• Transfer of control and jurisdiction of all matters relating to the high-performance rugby programme in Samoa to the Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (SASNOC) with joint oversight from an appointed stewardship group. This group shall be responsible for all matters on and off the field relating to the national teams, including their preparation and participation in global elite competitions such as Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027.
  All parties agreed that domestic rugby activities taking place in Samoa shall remain unaffected.

The statement closes by saying: “The proactive support of SASNOC in working closely with World Rugby to safeguard player high-performance pathways and opportunities is greatly appreciated by all stakeholders.”