WHO would think a team of burly Samoan rugby players would have such lovely singing voices?

The Samoan national team, who are in Brighton for the Rugby World Cup, took mass at St Mary Magdalen’s Church in Upper North Street on Sunday.

The team, known officially as Manu Samoa, packed the pews wearing sarongs.

As the service was coming to an end they offered to sing the final song Lota Nu’u to close out the morning’s mass.

The name means 'our nation' and is a regular for the team as it calls on the men of Samoa to lift their voices to praise and thank God.

Ofisa Treviranus, captain of the team, said: "Going to Church on a Sunday is what everyone does in Samoa so it was good to be able to go as a team to Mass at St Mary Magdalen.

"It was a nice service and we were honoured to be able to sing the last hymn."

Clare Bowskill, choir director at the church, praised the Samoans' singing. hailing them as a “beautiful and lovely group”.

A video of the team singing was shared on the team’s Facebook page and has so far been viewed more than 80,000 times.

Ms Bowskill said: “They rang up on Saturday and said they were coming but to have 50 of them come along, they were so big they filled up half the church.

“The singing was beautiful, I think it was the captain who came up to me and asked if we would like them to sing – which is what they did.”

The team stayed at the church for about 20 minutes afterwards, posing for photos and selfies with fans and parishioners.

Father Ray Blake said: "It was impressive to see so many devout young men, who think worshipping God on a Sunday morning is just a normal manly thing to do. God bless them"

The Samoan side also put their vocals to the test at their welcoming ceremony at the Brighton Dome.

The squad performed a traditional dance and sang a native song which would not have sounded out of place in a professional choir competition.

At midday on Sunday Samoa will scrum down against USA at Brighton Community Stadium.