ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Thursday Aug 29, 2019

Double header Pacific rugby feast as giants clash this weekend

Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and a New Zealand Heartland XV will take part in the World Rugby Pasifika Challenge II – ‘The Road to Japan’, a blockbuster double header in Auckland this Saturday.

ADVERTISEMENT

The three pacific rivals will look to fine-tune their preparations for Rugby World Cup 2019 at Eden Park when Samoa take on the New Zealand Heartland XV (14:30 local time, GMT+12) and Fiji play their final Rugby World Cup preparation test against Tonga (16:30).

The inaugural Pasifika Challenge was held in 2017 with Wales beating Tonga 24-6 and the All Blacks defeating Manu Samoa 78-0.

World Rugby has partnered with the three unions in a comprehensive four-year programme of high-performance support, and with Rugby World Cup 2019 just 24 days away the teams will be using the opportunity of the Pacific Challenge event to finalise their preparations.

Direct and indirect support from World Rugby for the Pacific Islands unions is expected to reach £20 million from 2016-19, up 30 per cent compared to the previous four year cycle, all geared towards ensuring that the teams arrive at Rugby World Cup 2019 in the best-possible shape.

This is in addition to insurance cover and long-term high-performance initiatives such as the Pacific Combine and the Fijian Drua which help retain and develop the Pacific Islands’ best young talent.

The Pacific Combine is a week-long skills camp run by World Rugby, in association with the Fiji, Samoa and Tonga Rugby Unions, consisting of a programme of on-field and off-field activities for local players who are capped but unsigned. The second edition took place in Suva, Fiji in March 2019, with England attack coach Scott Wisemantel overseeing it for the second year in a row, assisted by former Waratahs head coach Chris Hickey.

ADVERTISEMENT

Top performing players are selected into a high potential playing pool from which some players are given the opportunity to obtain a contract with a semi-professional club in Australia, New Zealand or the USA.

Flying Fijians’ scrum-half Frank Lomani was first scouted at the Pacific Combine in 2018 and integrated into the Fijian Drua squad before graduating to play test rugby.

The Drua is a three-way initiative from World Rugby, the Fiji Rugby Union and the Fiji Sports Council to fund and support a Fijian team to play in Australia’s National Rugby Championship (NRC). Since its creation in 2017, a number of Drua players have graduated through the ranks of the Flying Fijians and seven of them will represent their country in Japan.

ADVERTISEMENT

In November 2018, Fiji and Samoa were welcomed on to World Rugby Council for the first time, expressing the federation’s ambition of wider representation in its governance and the importance of the experience and insights brought to the global game by the Pacific Island nations.

– World Rugby

Related Articles

  • 42 WEEKS AGO

    South African Kurt-Lee Arendse receives limited...

  • 42 WEEKS AGO

    Fans outraged by the same thing during Argentina...

  • 42 WEEKS AGO

    Quade Cooper leaves the field with a nasty...



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Jack Crowley drops the ball on dime for brilliant Munster try in URC Final

  • 3 DAYS AGO

    WATCH: World class offload from James O’Connor Leads To Long Range Reds Try

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Leinster up and running with two incredible tries inside the first five minutes

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Chiefs Score The “Best Team Try” In Super Rugby History

  • 4 WEEKS AGO

    La Rochelle centre Seuteni produces other worldly offload in dominant victory

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    Watch: Cheslin Kolbe Dominates Sebastian Cancelliere with back-to-back big tackles

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    Ben Curry's World Cup hopes dashed as he becomes the latest victim of the crocodile roll

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Australian rugby player banned for 5 years after assaulting referee

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Anthony Watson comes within seconds of a Tuilagi haymaker

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    South African Panel Debate Apparent ‘Clean Cut’ Red Card In Interesting Debate

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 2 HOURS AGO

    Barbarians Vs World XV highlights

  • 7 WEEKS AGO

    Silly Skill From Toulouse Fullback Highlights French Confidence

  • 14 WEEKS AGO

    Ardie Savea Moment Of Magic In Super Rugby Aotearoa

  • 15 WEEKS AGO

    'Armchair athletes' berate Arundell's seriously impressive bench press

  • 15 WEEKS AGO

    Worcester Warriors - The End

View All

Funnies

  • 5 HOURS AGO

    Munster Rugby loving life in Cape Town Following URC Final Victory

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    WATCH: La Rochelle Players Gate Crash O’Gara Interview

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    WATCH: Stade Rochelais Coaches With All-Time Coaches Box Celebration

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Stephen Jones’s deleted rugby 7s article leads to hilarious wikipedia update

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Watch: DHL Stormers Celebrate Munster Victory In Style

View All

Amateur

  • 20 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 20 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 43 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 43 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 43 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 2 DAYS AGO

    John Afoa breaks record on return to Super Rugby

  • 3 DAYS AGO

    Harry Potter to ‘disapparate’ to Australia

  • 4 DAYS AGO

    Steve Hansen makes statement following Folau selection

  • 1 WEEK AGO

    O'Gara gives honest response on Ireland job in passionate interview

  • 2 WEEKS AGO

    Australian rugby player banned for 5 years after assaulting referee

View All