Samoan players planning to cover tattoos in certain venues in Japan
Samoan rugby players will wear skin suits to cover their traditional tattoos during some training sessions at the World Cup in order not to offend their Japanese hosts. Samoa captain Jack Lam said team officials consulted an expert on Japanese culture to make sure tattooed ...
Australia outplays Samoa in teams' final test match before Rugby World Cup
Australia survived a second-half comeback attempt by Samoa to beat the South Pacific islanders 34-15 Saturday in the teams' final test match before the Rugby World Cup. The Wallabies led 22-3 at halftime before Samoa scrumhalf Dwayne Polataivao scored two second-half tries to bring the ...
Pacific nations back in spotlight but old problems still remain
Fiji, Samoa and Tonga will be thrust into the spotlight this weekend during the Pasifika Challenge doubleheader in Auckland, but age-old problems continue to haunt them ahead of the upcoming Rugby World Cup. Samoa will play an invitational side comprised of players from New Zealand's ...
Samoan diaspora ink bonds with ancestors and motherland
Oliver Fagalilo takes a labored breath and tenses his body before a sharp steel comb, dipped in ink, is driven into his skin. Six hands keep him still and his skin taut as a Samoan artist works on the traditional tattoo that will cover more ...
Judo gives Japan a soft-power boost in the Pacific
In a large church hall near the Samoan parliament, 175-kg judo practitioner Derek Sua is being thrown to the mat by his Japanese coach, a black-belt who is a third his size. Sua welcomes the training, usually difficult for athletes in Pacific Ocean islands to ...
Erna Takazawa, Samoa's only optometrist, focused on giving islanders access to eye care
When Erna Takazawa was about 15 years old, growing up in the Pacific island nation of Samoa, her older sister started having vision problems. "My parents took her to our national hospital and, at the time, the hospital did not have the resources or the ...
Pacific Nations Cup provides vital testing ground before Rugby World Cup
With just under two months remaining before Japan faces Russia in the opening match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, the Brave Blossoms return to the Pacific Nations Cup after a three-year hiatus. The PNC usually features the Pacific nations of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, ...
Titanic explorer Robert Ballard to search for Amelia Earhart's plane
Robert Ballard, the underwater explorer who found the Titanic, has a new quest — searching for the plane of famed aviatrix Amelia Earhart, who disappeared over the Pacific in 1937. National Geographic said Ballard plans to leave from Samoa on Aug. 7 to carry out ...
Samoa qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup after beating Germany 42-28 for the second time in their two-leg playoff on Saturday. Samoa won the first leg 66-15 in Apia two weeks ago, making qualification on aggregate virtually inevitable. Germany was competitive at home, leading by ...
Claims that a young woman developed wounds after playing Jesus Christ in a play have sharply divided opinion in Samoa, with people divided over whether the bleeding cuts are an authentic miracle or a hoax. The country's prime minister is among those who believe Toaipuapuaga ...
Japan shows mettle in victory over Samoa
The "New Town" of Milton Keynes is known for its plethora of roundabouts. On Saturday, a disciplined Japan boxed clever and ran rings around Samoa to keep its hopes of reaching the quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup alive. The Brave Blossoms' 26-5 victory leaves them ...
After opening Rugby World Cup victories, Japan and Samoa were given reality checks in defeat last time out and their quarter-final hopes will be on the line when they meet in Milton Keynes on Saturday. Japan's euphoria at stunning South Africa was checked when it ...
