Think of a Machiavellian rugby administration plagued by bitter rivalry, self-interest and political infighting.

Think of one where players are mysteriously dropped, and official explanations just don't stack up. So what three-letter acronym springs to mind? That's right, it could only be the SRU.

Just not the one you are familiar with. In this case, the body in question is the Samoan Rugby Union, an organisation that has celebrated the nation's ascent up the international rankings in recent years by lapsing into the sort of bumbling tomfoolery that has been the hallmark of the game's traditional powers since Webb Ellis was a lad.

The latest examples of Samoa's off-field woes came to light just a few weeks ago when controversial centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu and popular captain Mahonri Schwalger were left out of the squad for the Pacific Nations Cup.

Fuimaono-Sapolu had gained notoriety at last year's World Cup for some intemperate tweeting about Welsh referee Nigel Owens. Samoa coach Stephen Betham claimed the player was omitted from the squad at the insistence of the IRB, a suggestion the IRB flatly denied.

Betham said Schwalger, 33, was dropped because of his age. However, the hooker has been in outstanding form for the Waikato Chiefs this season. Schwalger himself suggested the real reason lay in the report he had submitted last year after the World Cup, in which he accused officials of treating the tournament as a free holiday and indulging in drinking binges at the team hotel.

Schwalger has since called for SRU chairman Tuilaepa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi to be ditched. Not so easy when the individual in question also happens to be Prime Minister. And we think our lot are bit of a shower?

Despite all this, Samoa have been looking rather useful just lately. Since their breakthrough appearance at the 1991 World Cup, they have established themselves as the strongest of the South Sea Island nations, progress reflected by their ninth place in the world rankings – two better than Scotland.

Reflected, too, by the fact that they will today take on Japan in the final of the Pacific Nations Cup in Tokyo, a match they are clear favourites to win.

Indications are that they will be at full-strength against Scotland in Suva on Saturday. Like Andy Robinson's side, they did not get out of their pool at the World Cup, but they were hardly disgraced, with neither Wales nor South Africa beating them by a margin of more than eight points.

Small wonder that Andy Robinson celebrated yesterday's win over Fiji by pointing out that Scotland have "a lot to work on" as they set off on the 600-mile flight north to the final stop of their 2012 tour. The prospect of a clean sweep beckons, but a mighty obstacle stands there too.