Neil McCarthy (rugby union) was effectively ended in 2002 by a serious knee injury. McCarthy spent two years attempting to come back from the injury which included a final spell with Orrell Rugby, eventually retiring in 2004 after further complications from the original injury. He was Leicester Tigers Academy director from 2007-2015 and produced current England players George Ford, Manu Tuilagi, Dan Cole, Tom Croft, Billy Twelvetrees and the Youngs Brothers Ben and Tom. On 11 March 2015, McCarthy returned to Gloucester Rugby to become their new Head of Academy. Having restructured and established the Gloucester academy as a leading programme McCarthy moved into
Rugby union in Samoa Tonga, Fiji and Western Samoa was established in 1982. The Western Samoa Rugby Football Union joined the International Rugby Board in 1988. Western Samoa played in the World Cup for the first time in 1991. The Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) was set up in 2002 as a basis of co-operation between the Fiji Rugby Union, Samoa Rugby Union and Tonga Rugby Football Union. In 2006, the Pacific Tri-Nations was replaced by the IRB Pacific 5 Nations which was then renamed the Pacific Nations Cup. The IRB Pacific Rugby Cup started in 2006 with Upolu Samoa and Savaii Samoa representing