The Samoa Rugby Union (S.R.U.) President, Namulau’ulu Sami Leota, has been elected to the Oceania Rugby Board of Directors.

The election was held this week at the Oceania Rugby Annual General Meeting in Nadi, Fiji.

Namulau’ulu, who also recently became a Member of Parliament, was humbled by his elevation to the Board of Directors, and is very excited about what lies ahead.

“I am glad that we managed to get on the Board as other member countries had also raised their hands,” he said after the meeting.

The 16-member Oceania Rugby holds its annual general meeting every year and the election of its Executive Directors comes every four years in line with the calendar year of the Rugby World Cup.  

One of Oceania Rugby’s primary roles is for the development and promotion of rugby in the Oceania region and the majority of its funding comes out of the World Rugby Allocation.

“It’s all about performance now as there is a lot of work to be done, especially towards the challenges that we are facing at the moment with our rugby here in the Pacific and I am very much looking forward to working with the new Board,” said Namulau’ulu.

S.R.U. Chief Executive Officer Faleomavaega Vincent Fepuleai, who accompanied Namulau’ulu to the meeting, said this was clear evidence of the recognition of the strong work being done at S.R.U.

“The election of Namulau’ulu into the Oceania Board is a great achievement for Samoa. It’s great to have our voice heard at Board level as they make some key decisions affecting our rugby, especially towards the funding allocation from World Rugby,” he said. 

Five other directors were also elected at the A.G.M. in Steve Lancaster of New Zealand, James Wilby of Australia, Dr Berlin Kafoa of Fiji, Dr Kieren Keke of Nauru and the re-elected President, Richard Sapias of Papua New Guinea. 

Two other directors are to be appointed by the vetting committee and will be approved later. 

Oceania Rugby has two of the 51 seats on the World Rugby Council, and Sapias and Oceania Rugby Women’s Director Cathy Wong attended the most recent meeting in Dublin this month, along with S.R.U. Chairman and Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Dr. Sa’ilele Malielegaoi.