World Rugby Steps In to Safeguard Samoa's Top-Level Future

World Rugby has stepped in to safeguard the future of top-level Samoan rugby, agreeing an action plan with the Samoan government and Lakapi Samoa that transfers control of the country's high-performance programme to the Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee. The deal, announced on Friday after talks in Apia led by World Rugby chair Brett Robinson and Prime Minister Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt, follows a governance review prompted by differences between the union's board and management and the government, which led to Lakapi Samoa's self-suspension from the World Rugby Council. Under the interim measures, SASNOC takes control and jurisdiction of high-performance matters with joint oversight from an appointed stewardship group, ensuring Samoa's national teams keep competing at the highest level. That matters enormously: Samoa's men have played at every Rugby World Cup since their 1991 debut and only just qualified for the 2027 edition in Australia via the Final Qualification Tournament, but they have slipped to an all-time low of 20th in the rankings and won just one of their first three Nations Cup games. All parties agreed it was imperative the programmes remain unaffected, with Samoa committed to the 2027 World Cup, the Nations Cup, the WXV Challenger and sevens — and this deal keeps that pathway open.