For just the second time in history, Samoa is sending a national deaf rugby team to compete on the international stage at the upcoming Pacific Rim Deaf Rugby Sevens Competition in Australia. The tournament will be held on 28–29 June 2025, on the Gold Coast.

Their first outing was in 2019 at the Oceania Deaf Sevens Championship in Fiji, which ended with a silver medal. This time, the team are looking for gold. 

Rugby is a personal passion and a platform for change. At 30, Eli Sio, from Neiafu, Savaii, is preparing to represent Samoa—not only as a player but also as the President of the Deaf Association of Samoa. Sio was one of the players on the 2019 team.

"I'm really happy to be going again," Sio said. "The team’s been training hard. We all love rugby, and we're excited to go  to Australia and hopefully do even better this time."

The atmosphere in the team camp is positive. “We’ve all been working together, listening to our coach, improving our skills,” Sio added, noting the influence of veteran players like Vitaliano." 

Vitaliano Lui is the first-ever deaf player who played on the Samoa Touch men's team, and travelled to Australia last year for the Queensland State Cup.

“Some might be nervous, but we're ready to give our best.” Sio, who began playing rugby in his teens, took on the presidency in 2024 and has since seen rising interest among deaf youth, despite challenges. “There are more people keen to get involved,” he said.

Team Manager Taupau Alex Mikaele confirmed that 15 players and four to five support staff will make up the travelling party, selected from a training squad of 17. The team began preparations in March 2025, through a partnership between the Deaf Association and Marist St Joseph's Sports Club. Around seven players from the 2019 squad have returned.

“This year we are looking at going one better than silver,” said Taupau. The team's training is underway, and the only challenge now is funding. 

"At the moment we've sort of tasked the players to ask their families, friends, colleagues, and work to provide financial support/contribution," said Taupau.

It will cost the team just under WST$150,000 to fly to Australia and stay for a week. According to Taupau, the team is seeking financial assistance from the government, businesses and community organisations.

The current preparations serve as a bigger goal, the 2026 Deaf Rugby Sevens World Cup in Japan, a first-time opportunity for Samoa. The Deaf Rugby Sevens World Cup would be staged in either October or November in either Saitama, Tokyo or the Gifu Prefecture. Japan will confirm the exact venue by mid-2025.

The head coach for the team is Tausā Faamaoni Lalomilo, with Filoi Eneliko, who has been helping out in running some training sessions, as well as Chloe Dot of the Australian Defence Force.