Fatialofa, Peter

▪ 1994

      On July 31, 1993, Western Samoa played an official rugby union international match against New Zealand. The contest, at Eden Park in Auckland, was the culmination of the gradual rise of the Pacific island team from comparative obscurity to a place alongside the major rugby union-playing nations. Captain and star of the team was Peter Fatialofa.

      Like their counterparts in Fiji and Tonga, Samoans began rugby union play in the 1920s and quickly took to the physical, confrontational aspects of the game. But progress was spasmodic and depended a great deal on the interaction with New Zealand, traditionally one of the game's great powers. In the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, Fiji and Tonga both qualified for the tournament, but Western Samoa did not. Consequently, Samoans put considerable effort into preparation for the 1991 tournament. It involved "calling home" players such as Fatialofa, who, though born in Apia, the Samoan capital, on April 26, 1959, had spent much of his life in Auckland. He had played club rugby for Ponsonby and, over an eight-year period, 72 games for Auckland, which became during that period one of the great provincial teams in world rugby.

      Fatialofa—Peter Fats, as he was known—first played for Western Samoa on its 1988 tour to Wales and Ireland. A 120-kg (265-lb) furniture mover whose specialty was pianos, he proved a powerful scrummager and a formidable opponent with the ball in hand. He was appointed captain of the team in 1989 and led the country through the qualifying rounds and into the 1991 World Cup, played in Britain and France. It was then that Samoan rugby won the recognition it craved; by beating Wales and Argentina and losing only to Australia (the eventual cup winners), Fatialofa and his team qualified for the quarterfinals, where they lost to Scotland.

      That tournament paved the way for Western Samoa's first international competition with New Zealand, which represented a coming-of-age for the islanders. Fatialofa captained the team in the prestigious South Pacific provincial tournament and then during the nine-match tour to New Zealand that culminated in the game at Eden Park. Although Western Samoa lost 35-13, its play on tour was generally recognized as bringing qualities of excitement and adventure to New Zealand rugby. (DAVID HANDS)

* * *