Opinion: If Samoa Is Building a New Rugby Union, Perhaps It Should Follow the Weightlifting Model

Opinion

I've sat on this opinion piece for months.

Like many Samoan rugby supporters, I genuinely hoped the differences within our game could be resolved. I hoped Lakapi Samoa and those advocating for a new rugby union would find common ground, put aside their differences, and work together for the good of Samoan rugby.

Unity would always have been my preferred outcome.

However, following the Government's decision to withdraw its recognition and support for Lakapi Samoa, it now appears Samoan rugby may be entering a completely new chapter.

If that chapter involves the creation of a new rugby union, then perhaps its leaders don't need to look overseas for the blueprint.

Maybe the answers are already here in Samoa.

For years, while rugby has experienced governance challenges, internal divisions and a decline in international performance, Samoa Weightlifting has quietly become one of our nation's greatest sporting success stories under the leadership of Tuaopepe Jerry Wallwork

The achievements speak for themselves.

• Olympics

• Commonwealth champions.

• Pacific Games champions.

• Oceania champions.

• World-class athletes.
  

And most significantly, Samoa's first-ever Olympic medallist, Ele Opeloge, whose Olympic silver medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games remains one of the proudest moments in our nation's sporting history.

Most recently, Samoa once again showcased its strength at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Glasgow, proving that excellence is not a one-off achievement—it is a culture.

Before I go any further, I also want to make one thing very clear.

This opinion is not intended to diminish the work of Lakapi Samoa or the many people who have served Samoan rugby over the years.

Administrators, board members, coaches, volunteers, sponsors, players and supporters have all invested countless hours into our national game. There have been successes, milestones and achievements that deserve recognition and respect.

My intention is not to judge everything that has come before.

Rather, it is to ask a simple question:

If Samoa is about to build something new, what can we learn from one of our most consistently successful sporting organisations?

To me, the answer begins with culture.

Success is rarely built on talent alone.

It is built on discipline.

• Consistency.

• Sacrifice.

• Trust.

• Accountability.

One of the most impressive aspects of the Samoa Weightlifting programme is not simply the medals it has won.

It is the environment it has created. Having been on site a few times at their training grounds in Tuanaimato.

The athletes don't arrive for training and then head home.

They live together, camp together, train together and eat together.

They push each other every day.

They hold one another accountable.

They celebrate each other's victories and carry each other through disappointment.

It is truly one body, one mind.

That environment builds far more than stronger athletes.

It builds character.

It builds resilience.

It builds humility.

It builds trust.

Most importantly, it builds a family.

Everyone understands they are representing something far greater than themselves.

There is little room for ego.

Little room for politics.

Only a shared commitment to representing Samoa with excellence.

These are qualities that every sporting organisation should aspire to.

Of course, rugby and weightlifting are completely different sports.

Rugby involves larger squads, more complex competitions and significantly greater financial demands.

No one is suggesting rugby should simply copy everything weightlifting does.

But successful organisations often leave valuable lessons behind.

And one lesson stands out above all else.

Culture drives performance, ask the All Blacks or the Springboks

When the culture is right, players develop.

Teams unite.

Standards improve.

Success becomes sustainable.

Modern sport has also evolved.

The world's most successful sporting organisations no longer rely solely on natural talent.

They invest in leadership.

Nutrition.

Recovery.

Education.

Sports science.

Mental wellbeing.

Professional standards.

Every day matters, not just game day.

Imagine a rugby programme where players spend meaningful time together throughout the year.

Where discipline is expected.

Where leadership is taught.

Where young players learn what it truly means to wear the Manu Samoa jersey long before they step onto the international stage.

Where earning that jersey is seen not as a reward for talent alone, but as a privilege earned through character, commitment and sacrifice.

That is the kind of culture that creates lasting success.

As Samoa stands on the edge of what could become a new era for our national game, there is an opportunity to build far more than a new administration.

Far more than a new constitution.

Far more than a new logo.

There is an opportunity to build a new culture.

A culture where discipline comes before talent.

Where service comes before self.

Where unity comes before politics.

Where accountability comes before excuses.

Whether a new rugby union ultimately succeeds will not be determined by who sits around the board table.

It will be determined by the culture that is created from day one.

Tuaopepe Jerry Wallwork and Samoa Weightlifting have spent decades proving that a small Pacific nation can compete with the very best in the world when the culture is right.

Perhaps, as Samoan rugby begins what may be its biggest rebuild in generations, that is the first lesson worth learning.

Because championships are rarely won by talent alone.

They are built on culture.