Current season, competition or edition: 2025 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup | |
 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2006; 19 years ago (2006) |
| First season | 2006 |
| No. of teams | |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Fiji (2024) |
| Most titles | Fiji (6 titles) |
| Official website | world.rugby/pacific-nations-cup |
ThePacific Nations Cup is an internationalrugby union competition held betweenFiji,Samoa,Tonga,Canada,Japan and theUnited States. First held in 2006, the tournament is intended to strengthen the Tier 2 rugby teams by providing competitive test matches in a tournament format.
Former teams include theJunior All Blacks (2006, 2007, 2009),Australia A (2007, 2008, 2015),Georgia (2018) and theMāori All Blacks (2008). The inaugural tournament was the only one that carried the title of IRB Pacific 5 Nations; from 2007 the competition was known as the IRB Pacific Nations Cup and subsequently the World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup.
The tournament is a round-robin, where each team plays one match against each of the other teams. There are four points for a win, two points for a draw and none for a defeat. There are also bonus points offered with one bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match and one bonus point for losing by 7 points or fewer.
The tournament generally occurs every year in the June mid-year international test window. The tournament was played mainly throughout June, with the last round in early July. The revised tournament begins in May due to pre-existing Test commitments and concludes in late June.
The Pacific Nations Cup was funded as anInternational Rugby Board (IRB) tournament which was part of the $US50 million, three-year, global strategic investment programme launched in August 2005. The competition was aimed at developing thePacific rim sides in the second tier of the rugby countries:Fiji,Japan,Samoa andTonga. TheJunior All Blacks were also invited to compete, who are New Zealand's second XV. "The IRB Pacific 5 Nations is a tournament that will provide more certainty for Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga in terms of regular high level Test match rugby, while also providing a high level of competition for the Junior All Blacks," saidMark Egan, the IRB's Head of Rugby Services.[1]
In the first year only it was called thePacific 5 Nations and did not include Australia. Australia had been invited to take part in the inaugural 2006 tournament but decided against sending a team stating that they wanted to focus on their domestic competition. The inaugural tournament kicked off 3 June 2006 and was played in a round-robin format, with some games being held in Australia. The Junior All Blacks won all of their matches en route to winning the 2006 tournament. The inaugural tournament was a success in providing a platform for Pacific states and Japan in gaining valuable exposure.
Australia A joined an expanded competition for the 2007 season. The inclusion of Australia A meant that the tier 2 teams would have an even greater number of matches in the buildup to the2007 Rugby World Cup. For Australia, it provided a stepping stone forWallaby selection. Following the 2008 tournament, however, the ARU announced Australia A would not play in 2009 due to the current economic environment.[2] Australia has not participated since then.
In 2008, theNew Zealand Māori team replaced the Junior All Blacks in the competition. TheNew Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) had decided that the New Zealand Māori needed to play more matches at home and that the Junior All Blacks would not be assembled in 2008 for reasons of "player welfare."[3] The Junior All Blacks returned for the 2009 tournament, but no New Zealand team has participated since then.
From 2010 to 2012, the Pacific Nations Cup was a four-team tournament, contested by Japan, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, with Samoa winning in 2010 and 2012, and Japan winning in 2011.
In January 2013, the IRB announced that both theUnited States andCanada teams would be joining the2013 competition on a permanent basis. For the first time, the reigning champion Samoan team did not compete as they took part in acompetition in South Africa.[4]
The Pacific Nations Cup was downscaled for 2016 and 2017 with these two editions featuring only Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The sides from Canada, Japan and United States played in their respective regional qualifiers for the2019 Rugby World Cup. As part of the Oceanian qualification, places at the 2019 Rugby World Cup were awarded to the two top teams of the 2016 and 2017 PNC (on aggregate), whereas the bottom team played arepechage match against the second best Rugby Europe Championship team.Georgia was invited for the 2018 tournament hosted in Suva.[5]
For 2019, Canada, Japan and the United States returned to the tournament, serving as a prelude to the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Japan won without losing a match.[6]
The tournament was not held in 2020 or 2021, largely due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and other related logistical issues. It was revived in 2022, with the ever-present Fiji, Samoa and Tonga being joined by Australia A. Samoa won all three matches, ahead of Australia A.
In October 2023, World Rugby announced that beginning in 2024 the Pacific Nations Cup will be contested by six permanent teams fromNorth America, thePacific, andAsia:Canada,Fiji,Japan,Samoa,Tonga, and theUnited States.[7][8] The competition format would, however, be staged with around-robin pool stage followed by aknockout stage (finals),[8] hosted byJapan or theUnited States, to decide the tournament winner, unlike the previous format.[8] In August 2024, it was revealed that the2025 edition (finals hosted by the United States) of the Pacific Nations Cup would double as the qualification tournament for the newly expanded2027 Rugby World Cup,[9] merging North America and the Asia-Pacific regions, replacing the former regional qualification method.[9] With this announcement, five of the six teams that compete in the Pacific Nations Cup will automatically qualify for the2027 Rugby World Cup asFiji andJapan had qualified via the2023 Rugby World Cup Pool stage.[10]
The teams in the Pacific Nations Cup and their finishing positions are as follows:
| Team | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific teams | |||||||||||||||
| Fiji | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
 Samoa | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 4th | 1st | — | 1st* | 2nd | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 1st |
 Tonga | 4th | 5th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 2nd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 5th | 4th |
| Other teams | |||||||||||||||
 Canada | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2nd | 3rd | 6th | — | — | — | 6th | — |
 Japan | 5th | 6th | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 1st | 4th | 4th | 1st* | 4th | — | — | — | 1st | — |
 United States | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5th | 2nd | 5th | — | — | — | 3rd | — |
| Former teams | |||||||||||||||
 Australia A | — | 2nd | 2nd | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2nd |
 Georgia | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3rd | — | — |
 Junior All Blacks | 1st | 1st | — | 1st | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
 New Zealand Māori | — | — | 1st | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
The teams in the Pacific Nations Cup from the 2024 season and their finishing positions are as follows:
| Team | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 6th | TBD |
| Fiji | 1st | TBD |
| Japan | 2nd | TBD |
| Samoa | 3rd | TBD |
| Tonga | 5th | TBD |
| United States | 4th | TBD |
Notes:
^* The 2014 tournament was split into conferences without crossover matches or finals. Samoa and Japan won their respective conference titles.[11][12]
On 20 June 2008 theInternational Rugby Board announced that regional financial institutionANZ had agreed to become presenting sponsor of the competition, as well as theFORU Oceania Cup and thePacific Rugby Cup.[13]
On 16 August 2024,World Rugby andAsahi Breweries Limited announced thatAsahi Super Dry would be the title sponsor and official beer of the competition.[14][15]
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third | Fourth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiji | 6 (2013,2015,2016,2017,2018,2024) | 5 (2009,2010,2012,2014,2019) | 3 (2006,2011,2022) | 2 (2007,2008) |
| Samoa | 4 (2010,2012,2014,2022) | 3 (2006,2015,2016) | 5 (2007,2008,2009,2017,2024) | 3 (2011,2018,2019) |
| Japan | 3 (2011,2014,2019) | 1 (2024) | 1 (2010) | 4 (2009,2012,2013,2015) |
| Junior All Blacks | 3 (2006,2007,2009) | — | — | — |
| New Zealand Māori | 1 (2008) | — | — | — |
| Tonga | — | 3 (2011,2017,2018) | 5 (2012,2013,2014,2015,2016) | 3 (2006,2010,2022) |
| Australia A | — | 3 (2007,2008,2022) | — | — |
| United States | — | 1 (2014) | 1 (2019) | 1 (2024) |
| Canada | — | 1 (2013) | 1 (2014) | — |
| Georgia | — | — | 1 (2018) | — |
| Team | P | W | D | L | W% | PF | PA | Diff. | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiji | 53 | 33 | 2 | 18 | 62.26% | 1,343 | 1,129 | +214 | 171 | 132 | 22 | 8 | 166 |
| Samoa | 49 | 25 | 2 | 22 | 51.02% | 1,133 | 1,066 | +67 | 134 | 121 | 12 | 8 | 124 |
| Japan | 44 | 18 | 0 | 26 | 40.91% | 1,014 | 1,294 | −280 | 117 | 172 | 14 | 7 | 93 |
| Tonga | 52 | 16 | 1 | 35 | 30.77% | 1,070 | 1,518 | −448 | 125 | 184 | 8 | 11 | 85 |
| Junior All Blacks | 13 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 556 | 160 | +396 | 80 | 21 | 12 | 0 | 64 |
| Australia A | 13 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 69.23% | 489 | 252 | +237 | 66 | 31 | 8 | 2 | 48 |
| United States | 17 | 6 | 0 | 11 | 35.29% | 336 | 423 | −87 | 33 | 50 | 4 | 3 | 31 |
| New Zealand Māori | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 134 | 62 | +72 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 21 |
| Canada | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 18.75% | 317 | 457 | −140 | 37 | 53 | 3 | 4 | 19 |
| Georgia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 50% | 31 | 52 | −21 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: scorers for 2018. Citation for the tables below only covers 2006 to 2017, plus 2019. You can help byadding to it.(August 2019) |
The following tables contain points and tries scored in the Pacific Nations Cup.
Top points scorers[edit]
Last updated: 14 August 2024 | Top try scorers[edit]Last updated: 14 August 2024 |
Below is a table listing all the venues that have been used in the tournaments, listed with the number of matches each venue has hosted annually and historically:
Table updated to 2024 tournament