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The Samoa national rugby union team, referred to as the Samoa Sevens or Manu Samoa 7s, represents Samoa internationally in rugby sevens. The team competes on the annual Sevens World Series circuit, and won the 2009–10 World Series following a 15-12 victory against England in the semi-finals at the 2010 Edinburgh Sevens.〔(International Rugby Board, Retrieved 31 May 2010 )〕 Samoa Sevens went on to defeat Australia in the final and were crowned winners of the 2010 Edinburgh Sevens. The historic victory followed three consecutive tournament wins in the world series, the Hong Kong Sevens, the USA Sevens and the Adelaide Sevens. Representing the tiny Polynesian country of Samoa with a population of about 180,000 the Samoa Sevens team competes against some of the wealthiest and high tech countries in the world. Two of the highest points and try scorers in series history, Uale Mai and Mikaele Pesamino, played for Samoa. Pesamino was also named the 2010 IRB International Sevens Player of the Year, an honour which Uale Mai, a former team captain and one of the most capped players in the sport, had won in 2006. Captain Lolo Lui and teammate Alafoti Fa'osiliva had also been nominated. Samoa has played at all Rugby World Cup Sevens finals tournaments since the championship began in 1993, and won the third-place final in 1997 and 2007. The team has won four Oceania Sevens titles since the first competition in 2008. Samoa also won all four gold medals at the Pacific Games Sevens and Pacific Mini Games Sevens between 2007 and 2013, defeating in the final on each occasion. Rugby union in Samoa is governed by the Samoa Rugby Football Union (SRU) which oversees the Samoa Sevens team and the 15-player Manu Samoa national team. ==History== The first Samoan sevens team was selected in November 1978 to play at the invitation Hong Kong Sevens under the leadership of former SRU representative captain, Tuatagaloa Keli Tuatagaloa. The team included Rev-Dr Faitala Talapusi as captain, Lemalu Roy Slade (Brisbane) as vice-captain, Rev. Paul Gray (Melbourne), Peter Schmidt, Feausiga Sililoto, Andy Leavasa (USA), Salafuti Patu and others. In 2007, the team won both the Wellington Sevens and Hong Kong Sevens. Another past victory was the Hong Kong Sevens in 1993. In 2009, the team made the finals in the Dubai Sevens but lost to the New Zealand team. While long a solidly competitive side, the Samoa Sevens emerged as true world contenders in the 2006-07 Sevens World Series, finishing third overall while winning two events. This new team has reached the final four times in a row, playing against series favourite Fiji. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Samoa national rugby union team (sevens)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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