Samoa will blood five players in Saturday's game against the USA at the Estadio Anoeta, San Sebastian, Spain and LIVE on FloRugby.
The USA and Samoa have played each other five times, with Manu Samoa winning each game. However, the games have all been close. The first four games were all decided by a try or less, and the last meeting, plyed in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, was a 25-16 Samoa win.
Debutant Kane Leaupepe of Bay of Plenty will make his first appearance for Samoa this weekend when he pairs up with veteran Filo Paulo of London Irish in the locks. Other debutants including Ray Niuia, Ben Nee-Nee, Iakopo Mapu and Stacey Ili will all come off the bench for their first appearance in the blue jersey.
“I am just humbled and thankful to the Almighty for this opportunity to serve my county," said Mapu. "I hold this very dear to my heart as they don’t come your way without hard work.”
USA vs Samoa History
1999 Samoa 27 USA 20 (Apia, Samoa)
2000 Samoa 19 USA 12 (San Francisco)
2007 Samoa 25 USA 21 (RWC, Saint-Etienne, France)
2015 Samoa 21 USA 16 (San Jose, CA)
2015 Samoa 25 USA 16 (RWC, Brighton, UK)
Manu Samoa team to play USA:
| No: | First Name | Last Name | Club |
| 1 | Logovi’i | Mulipola | Newcastle Falcons (UK) |
| 2 | Motu | Matu’u | London Irish (UK) |
| 3 | Paul | Alo-Emile | Stade Francaise (FRANCE) |
| 4 | Kane | Leaupepe | Bay of Plenty (NZ) |
| 5 | Filo | Paulo | London Irish (UK) |
| 6 | Josh | Tyrell | Doncaster (UK) |
| 7 | Jack | Lam (captain) | Bristol Rugby Club (UK) |
| 8 | Faifili | Levave | Auckland (NZ) |
| 9 | Melani | Matavao | Otago Mitre10 (NZ) |
| 10 | Tusi | Pisi | Bristol Rugby Club (UK) |
| 11 | JJ | Taulagi | Hawkes Bay (NZ) |
| 12 | Alapati | Leiua | Bristol Rugby Club (UK) |
| 13 | Rey | Lee-Lo | Cardiff Blues (WALES) |
| 14 | Ed | Fidow | Aix Marseille (France) |
| 15 | Ah See | Tuala | Northampton (UK) |
| 16 | Ray | Niuia | North Harbour (NZ) |
| 17 | Jordan | Lay | Bristol (UK) |
| 18 | James | Lay | Bay of Plenty (NZ) |
| 19 | Ben | Nee-Nee | North Harbour (NZ) |
| 20 | Iakopo | Petelo-Mapu | Aana Chiefs (Samoa) |
| 21 | Dwayne | Polataivao | Northcote (NZ) |
| 22 | D’Angelo | Leuila | Papatoetoe (NZ) |
| 23 | Stacey | Ili | Hawkes Bay (NZ) |
Head coach: Steve Jackson
T/A: Alistair Rogers
T/A: Chris Latham
T/A: Ben Afeaki
S&C 1: John Ashley Jones
S&C 2: Luke Stephenson
Video Analyst: Michael Quigley
Physiotherapist: Olivia Withers
HP Physio: Brett Davison
Team Manager: Va’aelua Aloi Alesana
