Two days before their match against Chile, Pita Anae-Ah Sue, Iakopo Mapu and Latrell Smiler-Ah Kiong walked into the Conference Center in Salt Lake City on Thursday.
Anae-Ah Sue, Mapu and Smiler-Ah Kiong play for Manu Samoa, the Samoan national rugby team. Winning its two-match series against Chile will punch Manu Samoa’s ticket to the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
But the three men took a break from their match preparations to take a tour of the Conference Center, led by sister missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In two weeks, the Conference Center will host the 195th Semiannual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Both Anae-Ah Sue and Smiler-Ah Kiong are members of the Church of Jesus Christ, but neither had been to the Conference Center before.
“For me and Pita, we just grew up watching it on TV. We never thought we would be able to see it in person,” Smiler-Ah Kiong said.
They felt blessed that the sport of rugby brought them to Utah and the Conference Center.
“Everything we do around our lives is all based around our Heavenly Father. I think we’re just really blessed to be here,” Smiler-Ah Kiong said.
‘It felt like home’
The tour was given in their native Samoan, except for the organ performance from Brian Mathias, an organist for The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
Mathias performed “Come, Come, Ye Saints,” “Called to Serve” and “Families Can Be Together Forever” — a special request from Smiler-Ah Kiong.
“Families Can Be Together Forever” holds a special place in the rugby star’s heart. He remembers singing that hymn with his family during every family home evening as a child.
“Being older, being away from home a lot, every chance we get to be a family again, like all of us are together again, that’s always the song we sing,” Smiler-Ah Kiong said.
He said it was a “very emotional” experience to hear that song played in the Conference Center.
“It brought back a lot of special memories that I forgot about, and just hearing that in this beautiful place, it just really hit home. It felt like home,” he said.
Mapu, who plays for France’s Stade Francais when not suiting up for Manu Samoa, is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ but is a man of faith.
“I’m really enjoying it,” he said of the tour. “This is my first time coming around to this environment.”
Mapu was stopped by another man touring the Conference Center. They bonded over New Zealand, where Mapu went to school and the man served a mission for the church.
Elder David Wells with Church Hosting helped guide Anae-Ah Sue, Mapu and Smiler-Ah Kiong’s tour on Thursday.
“There’s a lot of things that make up Utah, but the church is kind of part of the culture and part of the personality of Utah,” Wells said.
Church Hosting helps accommodate visiting dignitaries or special guests wishing to visit sites on Temple Square, such as the Conference Center and the Salt Lake Tabernacle, according to Wells.
“You can’t come to Utah without at least understanding a little bit about the church, and so we try and help people understand that it’s a religion, but it’s also a humanitarian outreach to people near and far,” Wells said.
The Pacific Nations Cup comes to Utah
The final and third-place matches of the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup will be held in Sandy, Utah, on Saturday at America First Field.
It’s the first time the Pacific Nations Cup finals have been played in the U.S., according to the Utah Sports Commission.
But before those matches, Manu Samoa will face Chile in a World Cup qualifier.
It will be the first leg of the South America and Pacific playoff series. The winner of the two-match series will qualify for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Tickets to Saturday’s final between Fiji and Japan also include access to both the third-place match between Tonga and Canada and Manu Samoa’s match against Chile.
“It’s a spectator sport. Why wouldn’t you want to come to it?” Anae-Ah Sue said. “You might not get the rules, but you can definitely see what’s happening. The cheers go up, so it’s a cool environment, cool space to be in.”