Best finish
As Western Samoa, they stunned Wales to reach the quarter-finals of the 1991 tournament, losing to Scotland. They got to the same stage four years later, this time losing out to the hosts, South Africa. In 1999, by then known simply as Samoa, the Pacific Islanders got to the quarter-final play-offs only to lose to Scotland.
Last time
Wins over Namibia and traditional rivals Fiji were not enough to see them through their pool, as they lost to Wales and South Africa.
Coach
Stephen Betham cut his teeth as coach of the national sevens team, who won a World Series title under his leadership in the 2009-10 season. Since graduating to the senior side two years later he has masterminded some big results, including wins over Wales, Scotland and Italy. The 27-17 victory against Scotland - their first in nine attempts - came in the summer of 2013 in Durban when Scott Johnson was still the Scots’ head coach.
Key player
Northampton winger Ken Pisi needs no second invitation to exploit a gap in the opposition defence. Extremely quick and elusive, he often profits from the chaos left by his tough-tackling team-mates.
Strengths
Aggression, brute force, power, physicality - whatever you want to call it, the Samoans have it in spades. They have long prided themselves on being the toughest tacklers in rugby, and even teams who get the better of them often feel they have won a Pyrrhic victory because of the injuries they have suffered. An experienced squad, many of whom play in Europe, they are also more technically adept in the forwards than was once the case.
Weaknesses
They can rely too much on physical power at the expense of accuracy in the tackle. Their preference for a running game can also be a handicap, either when conditions favour kicking or when using the boot is a better tactical option.
More generally, national coaches have a small player pool from which to select in the first place given the population of the island group is under 200,000, and of course many of the most gifted players of Samoan heritage end up playing in - and often for - New Zealand.
Prospects
They come into the tournament as second seeds in the pool, having been above Scotland in the world rankings when the draw was made, and will therefore feel a burden of responsibility to justify their seeding and make it into the quarter-finals.
Their historic first home match against the All Blacks may have ended in defeat in July, but the 25-16 loss was the closest they have come to beating a team who more often defeat them heavily. So they are in good form coming into the World Cup, and should certainly prevail against the USA and Japan. Between those two games they face South Africa, and if, as expected, they lose that one, all will come down to the game at St James’ Park, Newcastle, against Scotland. On present form you would expect them to lose narrowly, but it is sure to be a desperately close match.
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