The Palauli district is the winner of the 2023 Prime Minister’s Cup after they edged Aana 1 in a tightly contested match to come out 17–14 victors.

The two teams did not disappoint in the grand final match on Thursday with the audience kept on the edge of their seats with Palauli surging home in a commanding display.

The captain of Palauli and the scorer of the winning try, Dylan Tufuga said he was extremely proud of his team and would like to see more of these competitions in the year.

“I’m very happy and thankful to God for giving us the strength. It’s because we tried very hard as a team and made it this far,” said Tufuga.

Tufuga – who was also named the most valuable player of the tournament – aspires to become a Manu Samoa 7s player when he grows up.

The captain of the silver medalist Aana 1 team, Sape Lalokava also said he was proud of his team despite their 3 points loss to Palauli.

“I’m sad we lost but there’s nothing else we can do, in the end, it didn’t roll in our favour,” said Lalokava.

Despite the loss, Lalokava said he enjoyed the rugby competition and pointed out that the Prime Minister’s Cup resulted in the creation of friendships and bonding between the boys, who were keen on similar future tournaments. The Prime Minister’s Cup winner Palauli was rewarded with a SAT$1,500 cash prize while the runners-up Aana 1 received SAT$1,000.

Two other districts from Savai’i were winners of the Spoon and Shield trophies, Asau 2 and Itu o Tane 1. While Vaimauga 1 and Lepa/Lotofaga took out the Bowl and Plate trophies.

All teams were rewarded with cash prizes, depending on their rank as well as money to help with the transportation costs for each team.