The chairman of Lakapi Samoa Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi says the reason behind the delay in the selection of a new Manu Samoa coach was the interview panel.

Tuilaepa said that the holdup was due to the panel or committee handling the interview process of the selection. The panel is made up of people from overseas and locally. 

Manu Samoa will face Scotland in June and then head into the Pacific Nations Cup which serves as the 2027 Rugby World Cup qualifiers. No one has been named yet to take over the role of Mase Mahonri Schwalger who resigned after being charged with sexual offences.

"I am waiting on the committee that handles interviews, which includes overseas people and also the Minister that has just resigned. If there are any defects, then select other people on the panel because I am tired of Samoa Observer and TV stations asking me questions about whether we have selected a head coach of Manu Samoa," he said.

"Despite them knowing that there are no tournaments any time soon, and they also know we have assistant coaches they still ask. So I told them, don’t worry those guys don’t know how to play rugby and they don’t know how it’s operated. Doesn’t matter if we elect a coach late, there is still an assistant coach who will do their job while we haven’t selected anyone."

The interviews for the position were conducted in early March. Tuilaepa then revealed that there were a lot of applicants for the position with several strong candidates vying for the role. He also mentioned that the candidates include applicants from outside Samoa, with strong contenders from Britain, New Zealand, and Australia. 

The position of Manu Samoa head coach became vacant in January 2025 following the resignation of former coach Mase Mahonri Schwalger. 

Mase’s resignation, effective immediately, was accepted by the Lakapi Samoa board. 

This came after he was charged by police with multiple sexual offenses, including unlawful sexual connection, attempted sexual violation, and indecent assault.

Mase’s suspension by Lakapi Samoa was announced in September 2024, pending a review of his case, which was due in December.