Date | 2 June– 26 October 2005 |
---|---|
Countries | Cook Islands Niue Tahiti Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Vanuatu |
Final positions | |
Champions | Cook Islands |
Runner-up | Papua New Guinea |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 8 |
2006 → |
The 2005 Oceania Cup was an international rugby union competition for countries and territories from Oceania with national teams in the developmental band. It was run by the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions, which is the administrative body for rugby in the Oceania region.
The tournament, won by the Cook Islands, also served as the first two rounds of the Oceania qualification for 2007 Rugby World Cup. [1]
Rank | Team | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Papua New Guinea | 2 | 0 | 0 | 142 | 10 | +132 | 6 | Qualified for final |
2 | Solomon Islands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 57 | –30 | 4 | |
3 | Vanuatu | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 117 | –102 | 0 |
Rank | Team | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cook Islands | 2 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 27 | +44 | 6 | Qualified for final |
2 | Niue | 1 | 0 | 1 | 60 | 32 | +28 | 5 | |
3 | Tahiti | 0 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 102 | –72 | 0 |
Cook Islands won on aggregate (48-32) and was also admitted to Round four of Oceania qualification for 2007 RWC. [2]
The Pacific Tri-Nations was the traditional rugby union series between Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. It was established in 1982 with the Samoan team, then known as Western Samoa, winning the tournament. In 2006 it was replaced by the IRB Pacific 5 Nations which was then renamed the Pacific Nations Cup.
In qualification for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, there were two places available for Oceania teams, and one place in the repechage. In the group rounds, there were three points awarded for a win, two for a draw, and one for a loss. There were no bonus points awarded.
The Niue Island national rugby union team is the national team of the third tier rugby union playing nation of Niue Island. The team first started playing in 1983 in mainly competes in the Oceania Cup, which it won in 2008. Rugby union in Niue Island is administered by the Niue Rugby Football Union.
The Tahiti national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union team, representing the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. They first played in 1971 and have played numerous games to date, most against rivals Cook Islands and several against Niue. Other games have been played against Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. France played a match against Tahiti at the end of their 1979 tour and won 92–12. Plans to have annual "test" match series against Pacific island neighbours, New Caledonia have been put on hold, due to time, availability, finances, and coaching and refereeing resources. They have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Tahiti is administered by the Fédération Tahitienne de Rugby de Polynésie Française. Currently, players who have represented or played for the Tahiti national rugby team, are eligible to represent France. However, playing at a professional level can only enable this. At present there are several Tahitian professional rugby players abroad in France's Top 14 and Pro D2 professional competition.
The Cook Islands is a third tier rugby union playing nation. They began playing international rugby in early 1971. Thus far, the Cook Islands have not made an appearance at any of the World Cups.
The Papua New Guinea national rugby union team, nicknamed the Pukpuks,, played its first international in 1966, defeating Vanuatu 47–3. Papua New Guinea have not so far qualified for a Rugby World Cup. They participated in the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournaments for the 2007, 2011 and 2015 World Cups, but did not qualify.
The Vanuatu national rugby union team represents Vanuatu in the sport of rugby union. The team is classified as a tier three nation by the International Rugby Board (IRB), and has yet to qualify for a Rugby World Cup. Its international debut was in 1966. It became affiliated with World Rugby in 1999. The team is nicknamed the Tuskers, after the pig tusks prized as currency in some parts of the country. The tusks also appear on the country's flag.
The Tonga national rugby sevens team competes in the World Rugby Sevens Series. Tonga has participated in all but one of the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments.
The Fiji women's national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Fiji, representing them at rugby union. They played their first test against Samoa in 2006, and compete annually in the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship. In 2022, they created history when they scored the third-highest points in both Men's and Women's Rugby at the Oceania Championship when they trounced Papua New Guinea 152–0. They made their first Rugby World Cup appearance at the delayed tournament in New Zealand.
The Tonga women's national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Tonga, representing them at rugby union. They compete annually in the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship.
The Oceania Rugby Men's Championship is an international rugby union competition for countries and territories from Oceania with national teams in the developmental band. It is administered by Oceania Rugby.
The Cook Islands national rugby sevens team represents the Cook Islands in rugby sevens internationally. They have participated in two Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments, in 1997 and 2001, and have also competed at the Commonwealth Games on four occasions. They qualified for the 2014 Hong Kong Sevens tournament and played in the World Series Qualifiers.
Sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular playing sport for men in Australia is Australian rules football, while for women is netball. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. Rugby union is the most popular sport among New Zealanders, while in Papua New Guinea rugby league is the most popular. Cricket is another popular sport throughout the Oceania region.
The Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU) section of the 2015 Rugby World Cup qualification involved five teams competing for one spot in the final tournament in England.
The Vanuatu national rugby sevens team is Vanuatu's representative in rugby sevens.
The qualification process for the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan began during the pool stages of the 2015 tournament in England, during which the top three teams from each of the four pools were awarded automatic qualification for the 2019 event. A further eight teams qualified through regional, cross-regional tournaments and the repechage process.
Qualifying for the 2019 Rugby World Cup for Oceania Rugby began in June 2016, where across 2 years, 3 teams competed for two direct qualification spots from Oceania. Two places were available to Oceania in a cross-regional play-off series' to qualify for the World Cup and or advance through the Repechage.
The Papua New Guinea women's national rugby union team played their first international against Fiji in 2016. They compete annually in the Oceania Rugby Women's Championship, and have not qualified for the Rugby World Cup as yet.
The 2017 Oceania Rugby Cup for national rugby union teams in the Oceania region was held in Cook Islands at the National Stadium in Rarotonga on 4 August 2017. With Papua New Guinea being forced to withdraw, only two countries remained in the competition played as a straight knock-out match as part of Oceania qualification for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
The Rugby League Pacific Championship is a rugby league tournament for national teams in Oceania. Its inaugural tournament was in 2019 as the "Oceania Cup".