Samoa Ties Belgium, Secures RWC 2027 Spot

Australia 2027 will mark Samoa’s 10th appearance at rugby’s pinnacle competition, having featured in every tournament since 1991. Currently ranked 17th in the World Rugby Men’s Rankings, Samoa will also turn their attention to the Rugby World Cup 2027 Draw, set for December 3 at 4AM ET, in Sydney, Australia, when they will learn the identity of their pool opponents.

Samoa and Belgium both lost to the USA this year. Samoa's lineup in their match with the USA was considered a little less strong than the squad that was available for the Final Qualification Tournament. Five players who started against the USA started against Belgium. Two players that started vs the USA were on the reserves bench vs Belgium. One player who was on the reserves bench vs the USA was also on the bench vs Belgium.

Also notable was that former Eagle Titi Lamositele started at loosehead for Samoa—Lamositele switched to Samoa following the World Rugby rules where you can switch national teams if the team you switch to is the country you or a parent or grandparent was born in.

By qualifying for Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027, Manu Samoa have also confirmed their participation in the new World Rugby Nations Cup that is kicking off in 2026. They will join Canada, Chile, Georgia, Hong Kong China, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Tonga, Uruguay, USA, and Zimbabwe in the 12-team competition.