Swine fine: Rugby boss fined 100 pigs?

Published Nov. 22, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The manager of the Samoan Rugby World Cup team has reportedly been fined 100 pigs by his village over allegations of bad behavior at the international sporting event held in New Zealand earlier this year.

Leauva'a village chief Sala Lose told the New Zealand Herald the fine was imposed on Tuala Mathew Vaea because the allegations had tarnished the chiefly title bestowed on him.

In a report to the Samoan Prime Minister last month, the team captain Mahonri Schwalger criticized Vaea's behavior during the tournament and said he treated it more like a holiday — in that he was regularly out drinking and playing golf.

Vaea, who was dropped as the team manager after the World Cup, could not be reached for comment.

Samoa's World Cup campaign in New Zealand was regularly in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, with the team only managing third place in its pool behind South Africa and Wales.

In October, Samoa international Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu was given a six-month ban, suspended for two years, from playing rugby at all levels after calling Welsh referee Nigel Owens "racist" in a Twitter message during the World Cup.

The controversial center, who plays for Gloucester, appealed the punishment, with a ruling from the appeal hearing expected this week.

In another post Fuimaono Sapolu said that tournament organizers were guilty of "slavery" for the way they treated teams like Samoa.

Another Samoan player, Alesana Tuilagi, was fined for wearing an unapproved mouthguard during the tournament, as was his brother Manu, who was playing in the tournament for England.