Manu Samoa Sevens Coach and Management terminated

19 August 2024 – Following a dismal performance in the last World Rugby Sevens season and losing its core team status in the circuit, Manu Samoa Head Coach and Management Team were handed their termination letters on their way out to the recent Olympics in France.

Following the publicity given his termination, Manu Samoa Sevens head coach Muliagatele Brian Lima revealed that they were served their termination letters on the day they travelled to the Olympic Games last month.

He told the media that he was disappointed by the decision to prematurely end his contract but accepted that he gave his all for the team.

The contracts for the head coach and management were supposed to end in November of this year.

Under his Muliagatele’s charge, the Manu Samoa sevens performance spiraled downwards from the start of last season’s World Sevens Series. The team finished second to last.

This led the team to play in the promotion-relegation tournament at the Madrid 7s in Spain. Samoa lost all their matches in Madrid and lost their status as a core team for the Sevens Series.

In a social media interview then, Muliagatele claimed that four players deliberately sabotaged the tournament for the team as they were playing to lose. He has not named the players.

To return to the core status of the Sevens Series, Samoa has to finish as the top non-core team in the Oceania 7s Championship in November.

This will allow them to be part of the Challenger Series. They will need to have a top-four finish in the Challenger Series to get the opportunity to play for promotion in the last tournament of next season’s World Sevens Series.