Although the Manu Samoa Sevens rest at a lowly 13th place in the H.S.B.C. Sevens; one player stands to lift Samoa in the rankings by personally achieving against the odds.

Former captain, Tila Mealoi’s performance in the H.S.B.C. Vancouver leg has earned him a spot in the top three of both the Top Try Scorer and Top Carrier categories in the entire tournament.  

Currently, Mealoi comes in at a close second as the Top Point Scorer of the tournament with 41 points, just one point behind U.S.A. speedster, Perry Baker.

In the Top Carrier category, Mealoi comes in at third behind the current Vancouver champions, England’s Dan Norton and Daniel Bibby.  

Playmaker Mealoi has proved to be an integral part of the core group of players in the team. Looking at Vancouver, with Selesele out and captain Aiono subbing in late in the matches, Mealoi proved he has the tenacity, leadership and skill to direct the players and dictate the tempo of the game.  

The 25year old from the village of Lalomanu has proved to be just as dangerous with ball in hand as he is on defence.

His statistics also stand out amongst his brothers in blue.  

In this Sevens season overall, Mealoi has featured in 34 matches and racked up 161 points scored with an average of 4.74 per match.

In the Most Points Scored category, there is a huge margin separating Mealoi from his teammates, an 109 point difference to be exact.  

In the Try Scoring category, Mealoi leads by one point ahead of teammate, La’aloi Leilua.  

And with the H.S.B.C. Hong Kong looming ahead, we haven’t seen the last of Tila Mealoi.