The head of Samoa's rugby union has warned that the national team could cease to exist if the government does not accept a proposed World Rugby review into the governing body.
Last month, the Samoan Government announced it was withdrawing recognition and financial support of Lakapi Samoa, the nation's rugby governing body, citing "unresolved internal issues and division" at the union. World Rugby was reported to have given Samoa an ultimatum to resolve the issues or face a four-year ban from Test rugby, but these reports were denied.
Weeks on, the Samoan government and Lakapi Samoa remain at loggerheads. The government has yet to formally accept the World Rugby review and has instead launched a rival union, the Samoa Rugby Football Union.
CEO warns of 'no more Manu Samoa'
Seumanu Douglas Ngau Chun, CEO of Lakapi Samoa, has warned that there will be "no more Manu Samoa" if the government does not accept the proposed review, with heavy sanctions believed to be inevitable.
"Last I heard, they will review the Lakapi Samoa and I am waiting on the government to give their official correspondence to accept the review," he told RNZ Pacific. "Up to [Friday] I have not been informed of any updates about the review."
"If we get to that point, then there will be no point [in] rugby in Samoa because once we get sanctioned, then there will be no more Manu Samoa, no funding, and that [would be] a great loss to us," he added.
Potential four-year ban and missed World Cups
Seumanu fears the consequences of the government not allowing the review to proceed, with a four-year ban from competition among them. If that occurs, Samoa, who ranked as high as seventh in the world in 2012, would likely miss the next two Rugby World Cups.
"It is very concerning, because if that happens, then we might get banned for up to four years and the criteria to get back in will be great and need to be met by the new union or us if we end up operating it again," he said.
"What is also even more saddening is that we will miss two World Cup tournaments if this happens, because if we get banned then we will miss the World Cup in 2027 and the one in the [United] States. That's the biggest concern for us."
Review timeline and required acceptance
The initial plan was for the review to run until November, but World Rugby has reportedly proposed extending the process until December. According to Seumanu, the government must give its acceptance to both the timeframe of the review and the way it would be carried out.
