Manu Samoa to play Barbarians

Manu Samoa and the Barbarians rugby club will meet for only the second time when they face off for the Killik Cup on 27 November.

Samoa head coach Seilala Mapusua played twice for the Barbarians and said it was one of the highlights of his career.

"Their style of rugby gives you the freedom to simply go out and express yourself on the field alongside numerous international superstars of the game so, it is not only a great honour to play for the Barbarians, but a great privilege for the Manu Samoa to play against them too," he said.

"Fixtures such as these play an important role in the development of players on the international stage and provide fantastic building blocks for Samoa in the run up to Rugby World Cup 2023 in France."

The Samoa men have not taken the field since the 2019 World Cup in Japan, with Covid-19 curtailing last year's international schedule. The Manu are pencilled in to play two Rugby World Cup qualifiers against Tonga in New Zealand in July, with the Barbarians clash set to from part of an end of year Northern Tour.

A host of Samoan rugby legends have represented the Barbarians in the past, including Pat Lam, Brian Lima, Semo Sititi and more recently Paul Williams, Census Johnston, Tusi Pisi and Kahn Fotuali'i.

Lakapi Samoa CEO Faleomavaega Vincent Fepuleai said they were grateful for the opportunity.

"Matches like these are invaluable to Samoan rugby, alongside World Rugby's continued support to our game with the recent announcement of a Samoan Super Rugby Team."

The Barbarians pipped the Manu 27-24 in their only previous encounter at London's Olympic Stadium, prior to the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

The last edition of the Killik Cup took place in 2019, when Fiji defeated the hosts 33-31 in front of a 50,000-strong crowd, and Barbarians F.C. President John Spencer said they are looking forward to welcoming back fans back for the upcoming clash against Samoa.