Samoa Rugby Union declared bankrupt

Samoa Rugby Union (SRU) has been declared bankrupt just a few days before the Pacific Islanders face Scotland at Murrayfield.

Samoan prime minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi, the SRU chairman, issued a fundraising plea to the public to keep the governing body going.

"We are bankrupt," he is quoted as saying by the Samoa Observer. "In other words we are insolvent.

"It means the Union cannot continue to pay off our debts with the banks. We also need money to pay the players so they can continue to play."

Samoa are due to come up against Scotland on Saturday and take on England at Twickenham a fortnight later.

The Prime Minister, speaking at a fundraising radiothon, added: "This is a Union which has faced many challenges around the board table and on the field.

"We are a Union with endless financial tension that is continuously in the public arena, and haunted by its past failures and at times we have copped unfair and scathing criticism."