The years keep adding up as the Manu Samoa Sevens make unsuccessful attempts to regain the lost glory that we were so proud of. It was hard work in Los Angeles, and despite our best efforts, we faltered again.

The battle to climb back into the top division of the World Rugby Sevens Series has become harder. A month ago, World Rugby announced changes to the evolved HSBC SVNS competition model. The new structure introduces a devolved, three-division hosting model that expands the series from 10 to 13 events in 2026. HSBC SVNS Division 1 will see core team numbers reduce from 12 to eight per gender in a six-tournament series.

In the top division, there will be eight men’s and eight women’s teams competing in six high-impact SVNS Series events. These are the teams that finished in the top eight of the current series. In the second division, there will be six teams per gender competing across three events. Manu Samoa failed to make this after the play-off championships.

We now have to gun for the third division. A standalone Challenger event with eight teams per gender, qualifying from regional competitions. The first thing Manu Samoa Sevens has to do is the attain a top finish at the Oceania Championship, and then they will make the Challenger event. A top finish in 2026 will let Manu Samoa through to the playoffs to go into the second division. It will be a play-off, and we have to win here.

Then, for the next year, Manu Samoa will have to be part of the second division, provided we make it there. Then we endeavour to make the top end of this competition to have a chance to make the play-offs to crawl back into the top division, where we had been for such a long time. The road is longer than usual, and it is going to be tough, but it is not an impossible task. The solution is staring right in our faces.

Maybe this was not our year, just like last year was. However, we have to note the hard work put in by a new set of players who made a remarkable finish at the Oceania Championship, beating Fiji in the final and then played through the Challenger Series to get into the playoffs. We were almost there. Sometimes, almost is not good enough, and we have to do better.

Being an athlete at the elite level is never easy. It comes with hard work and a lot of sacrifice. It requires sacrifices from the families of the players. Our players are not professionals, they are not on a contract to don the national jumper. Some have jobs outside of rugby, while some just rely on allowances, which are not much. Lakapi Samoa has admitted the lack of finances since the team was cut from the top division. However, there has to be a way of doing this. We need to get these players on full-time contracts and make professionals out of them.

We also need to retain these players and have the door open for local talents to have a bigger selection pool. Nepotism and favouritism in player selection have to go out the door. We can criticise them for the losses, and we should also praise them for the wins and the sacrifices they have made. Retain the coaching team as well. They have made a positive impact. For most players, this year was their first taste of international rugby. They were less experienced going into the tournaments this year, and they have come out with more knowledge and a feel of what it is going to take.

The sevens scene should be local-only players. There is so much talent in the islands, and we are failing to use it. Lakapi Samoa knows what is required of them. They should start working towards contracts or bigger allowances. We are down but not out. If we get our acts together, sevens glory will return.

Thank you to the Manu Samoa Sevens for a tough year, we hope that you come back better and stronger.