Solomon Islands national rugby union team
The Solomon Islands national rugby union team represent Solomon Islands in the sport of rugby union.
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| Union | Solomon Islands Rugby Union Federation | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Corey Chapman | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| First international | |||||||||||
| Papua New Guinea 23–5 Solomon Islands (18 August 1969) | |||||||||||
| Biggest win | |||||||||||
| Solomon Islands 61–7 Nauru (27 August 2019) | |||||||||||
| Biggest defeat | |||||||||||
| Solomon Islands 3–113 Fiji (21 August 1969) | |||||||||||
Medal record
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They played their first international at 18 August 1969, losing to Papua New Guinea by 23-5. Their next game, three days later, with Fiji show their record loss of 113-13. Both games were part of the 3rd South Pacific Games. Since then they have played in only a small number of internationals. Their first win came in 1983, in a 19-12 win over Niue, for the 7th South Pacific Games.
Solomon Islands have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup finals, but did take part in the qualifying tournaments in Oceania for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, and the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, but did not end up qualifying.
History
In November and December 2011, Solomon Islands competed in the Eastern Regional Pool of the 2011 FORU Oceania Cup. All matches were played at Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby. In their first match, on 29 November, Solomon Islands recorded a notable 22-19 victory over the more fancied former champions Niue.[1] This was followed by a 33-15 loss to host nation, Papua New Guinea.[2] In their final pool match, Solomon Islands defeated Vanuatu 48-20 to finish second in the pool, behind Papua New Guinea. This victory set a new record winning margin for the Solomon Islands, eclipsing the previous best of 11-3, also against Vanuatu, in 2001. By virtue of their wins at the tournament, Solomon Islands climbed to an all-time high of 69th position on the IRB World Rankings, overtaking Niue in the process.[3]
Record
World Cup
| World Cup record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Qualification status | ||||||
.svg.png){kind=small}  | Not invited | ||||||
   | Did not enter | ||||||
 | Did not enter | ||||||
.svg.png){kind=small} | Did not enter | ||||||
| Did not qualify | ||||||
| Did not qualify | ||||||
| Did not enter | ||||||
 | Did not qualify | ||||||
 | Did not qualify | ||||||
Overall
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 |
 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.66 |
 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0.00 |
 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Total | 26 | 9 | 17 | 0 | 34.61 |
Current squad
On July 30, the 31-man squad was selected for the 2019 Oceania Rugby Cup.
| Player | Position | Date of birth (age) | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lavern Tuhatangata | Hooker |  | |
| Rodney Kavamauri | Hooker | 18 February 1983 | |
| Kasoa Watkin | Prop | 22 August 1984 | |
| Micky Tufunga | Prop | | |
| Sifina Rukia | Prop | | |
| Huddy Hou | Prop | 18 April 1988 | |
| Edward Tangimoana | Prop | | |
| Ezekiel Mana | Prop | | |
| Sunigeva Nasiu | Lock | | |
| Jack Akao | Lock | | |
| Eddie Aete'e | Lock | | |
| Kevin Muna | Lock | | |
| Sonney Delaiverata | Lock | | |
| Daniel Saomatangi | Flanker | | |
| PJ Lakoa | Flanker | | |
| Saga Sade Samani | Flanker | | |
| Vince Tohuika | Flanker | | |
| Castro Teaheniu | Number 8 | | |
| Paul Tema | Number 8 | | |
| Felix Galo | Scrum-half | | |
| Charlie Tenge | Scrum-half | | |
| Ronnie Saomatangi | Fly-half | | |
| Edwin John | Fly-half | | |
| Roman Tongaka | Centre | | |
| Laban Taika | Centre | | |
| Moana Tepuke | Centre | | |
| Bobby Sade | Centre | | |
| Timo Sanga | Wing | | |
| Eddie Sanga | Wing | | |
| Chris Saru | Wing | 23 June 1993 | |
| Mathew Qwaina | Fullback | | |
| Moses Sinugamoana | Fullback | | |
External links
- Solomon Islands on IRB.com
- Solomon Islands on Rugbydata.com
- Solomon Islands at the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU)
- Solomon Islands Official Games
References
- "Sport: First round wins for PNG and Solomons in Oceania Rugby Cup". Radio New Zealand International. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
- "Pukpuks Rise". The National, Sport. The National. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- "Solomon Islands climb to new high in rankings". Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions. Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions. Archived from the original on 22 January 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2011.