Who is Brian Lima: Ten things you should know about the Samoa sevens coach

The player known as 'The Chiropractor' is now making his presence felt from the touchline

Who is Brian Lima: Ten things you should know about the Samoa sevens head coach

Brian Lima is one of the most famous players to emerge from the Pacific islands.

The outside back turned coach remains famed for his bone-crunching tackles and was the first player to feature in five Rugby World Cups.

Ten things you should know about Brian Lima

1. Brian Pala Lima was born on 25 January 1972 in Apia, Samoa. He began his career with Marist St. Joseph, a leading club in the city.

2. He made his Samoa debut in 1990 and rose to prominence at the 1991 Rugby World Cup, where Western Samoa upset Wales 16-13 in their opening game.

3. Lima made his debut for Samoa’s sevens side in 1993 and enjoyed a successful 12-year career that included reaching the semi-finals at the 1997 Sevens World Cup.

4. He started the 1997 Super Rugby final as the Blues beat the Brumbies 23-7 at Eden Park. He also played two seasons with the Highlanders.

5. Lima was instrumental as Samoa upset Wales again at the 1999 World Cup, setting up Silao Leaega’s match-winning try in front of a stunned Cardiff crowd.

6. His eye-watering tackle power earned him the nickname of ‘The Chiropractor’, with his most famous defensive effort coming in the 2003 World Cup against South Africa’s unfortunate Derick Hougaard.

Hougaard, gathering the ball above his head, left his ribs exposed and was promptly knocked backwards by a perfectly-timed Lima tackle.

7. He scratched the surface of northern hemisphere rugby, playing briefly for Swansea between 2001 and 2002, and Bristol from 2005 to 2007.

8. Lima became the first man to play in five World Cups when he came off the bench during Samoa’s first game of their 2007 campaign against South Africa. However, a dangerous tackle on Jonny Wilkinson during a group match against England led to a citing that ended his campaign prematurely.

9. He coached Samoa’s XVs side but stepped down in early 2014 following allegations of an assault on his ex-wife. He was found guilty of five charges and was sentenced to two years’ supervision.

10. Lima was announced as Samoa’s sevens head coach in August 2020 and led them to three consecutive fourth-place finishes during his first World Sevens Series as coach in 2022.

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