The Samoa Rugby Union says the resignation of sevens head coach Viliamu Punivalu was not as a result of poor recent results or pressure from officials.
The former national U20s coach offered his resignation to the SRU board last Thursday, which was accepted.
It follows a disappointing season where player selections were criticised and the Manu Samoa Sevens team finished a lowly eighth on the World Series standings.
Advertising for his replacement began at the weekend and Union CEO Fred Amoa says they hope to make an appointment by the end of this week.
Amoa says Punivalu wanted to spend more time with his family and was not pushed into quitting.
"He's made his own decision and the results haven't been the best and that's trying to rebuild the squad. Looking at the current position on the ranking is eighth so disappointing but [we've] got to be realistic and keep on rebuilding. There are some new players that have come into the squad and depending on the new coach we're going to keep them on or keep the squad together as well".
Fred Amoa says the new coach will be appointed for the Commonwealth Games in July as well as the next World Sevens Series.
