2008 Pacific Rugby Cup | |
---|---|
Countries | Fiji (2 teams) Samoa (2 teams) Tonga (2 teams) |
Champions | Tautahi Gold |
Matches played | 16 |
The IRB Pacific Rugby Cup 2008 was the third edition of the Pacific Rugby Cup competition. First held in 2006, the 2008 edition, like its predecessors, featured 6 representative rugby union football teams; 2 from each of the three Pacific rugby unions - Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
Tautahi Gold beat Upolu Samoa 11 points to 3 in the grand final match to win the Pacific Rugby Cup for 2008, becoming the first Tongan team, and the first team outside of Samoa, to win the trophy.
The 6 participating teams were:
The teams played a single round robin (home or away) series. The two top teams in the final standings met in the grand final match, with the first ranking team awarded home advantage.
The 2008 tournament followed the completion of Fiji's Colonial Cup, Samoa's National Provincial Championship and Tonga's Provincial Championship and provided the coaches of the three national teams with a competitive player development pathway just ahead of the IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2008.
Upolu Samoa began its title defence away to 2007 beaten finalists Tau'uta Reds in Nuku'alofa on April 19, while Fiji Warriors faced Tautahi Gold in Lautoka and 2006 champions Savaii Samoa played Fiji Barbarians in Apia. Four further rounds followed on consecutive weekends before the top two ranked teams contested the Grand Final on May 24.
Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Point Difference | Bonus Points | Points | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Upolu Samoa | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 90 | 49 | +41 | 1 | 17 | |||||
Tautahi Gold | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 97 | 75 | +22 | 1 | 13 | |||||
Savaii Samoa | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 81 | 81 | 0 | 1 | 13 | |||||
Fiji Barbarians | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 72 | 90 | -18 | 2 | 10 | |||||
Tau'uta Reds | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 84 | 95 | -11 | 1 | 9 | |||||
Fiji Warriors | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 70 | 104 | -34 | 3 | 7 | |||||
Source: oceaniarugby.com [1] |
Competition rules | |||
---|---|---|---|
Points breakdown: 4 points for a win 2 points for a draw 1 bonus point for a loss by seven points or less 1 bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match Classification: |
2008-04-18 | Fiji Warriors | 21-19 | Tautahi Gold | Churchill Park, Lautoka | ||
Savai'i Samoa | 17-13 | Fiji Barbarians | Apia Park, Apia | |||
2008-04-19 | Tau'uta Reds | 12-20 | Upolu Samoa | Teufaiva Stadium, Nukuʻalofa | ||
2008-04-25 | Fiji Barbarians | 5-22 | Upolu Samoa | National Stadium, Suva | ||
2008-04-26 | Savai'i Samoa | 20-18 | Fiji Warriors | Prince Edwards Park, Savaii | ||
Tau'uta Reds | 11-21 | Tautahi Gold | Teufaiva Stadium, Nukuʻalofa | |||
2008-05-02 | Upolu Samoa | 13-8 | Fiji Warriors | Apia Park, Apia | ||
Tautahi Gold | 27-17 | Savai'i Samoa | Teufaiva Stadium, Nukuʻalofa | |||
2008-05-03 | Fiji Barbarians | 25-24 | Tau'uta Reds | Lawaqa Park, Sigatoka | ||
2008-05-09 | Fiji Warriors | 16-23 | Tau'uta Reds | Prince Charles Park, Nadi | ||
Tautahi Gold | 20-0 | Fiji Barbarians | Teufaiva Stadium, Nukuʻalofa | |||
2008-05-10 | Upolu Samoa | 9-14 | Savai'i Samoa | Apia Park, Apia | ||
2008-05-16 | Tau'uta Reds | 14-13 | Savai'i Samoa | Teufaiva Stadium, Nukuʻalofa | ||
2008-05-17 | Fiji Warriors | 7-29 | Fiji Barbarians | Subrail Park, Labasa | ||
Upolu Samoa | 26-10 | Tautahi Gold | Apia Park, Apia | |||
2008-05-24 | Upolu Samoa | 3-11 | Tautahi Gold | Apia Park, Apia | ||
The Tonga national rugby union team represents Tonga in men's international rugby union and it's nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Sipi Tau. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a historic 19–14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but having lost to New Zealand and Canada, were unable to achieve what would have been their first-ever presence at the quarter-finals.
Fiji Rugby Union (FRU) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in Fiji. It is divided into over 30 provincial unions. The Fiji Rugby Union is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA), along with Samoa and Tonga. There are approximately 80,000 registered players from a total population of around 950,000.
The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include the national teams of Canada, Japan and United 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.
The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams from the Asia-Pacific region. The tournament is run by World Rugby through Oceania Rugby.
Rugby union in Samoa is the country's most popular sport. The national teams in both the standard 15-man game and rugby sevens are consistently competitive against teams from vastly more populous nations.
Rugby union is the national sport of Tonga. Tonga are considered to be a tier 2 rugby nation by the International Rugby Board.
Rugby union in Fiji is a popular team sport and is considered to be the national sport of the country. The sport was introduced to Fiji in the 1880s. Fiji is defined as a tier two rugby nation by World Rugby. The national team has competed at the Rugby World Cup and made it as far as the quarter finals. Their sevens team is also noted for their success, and have won the Rugby World Cup Sevens twice and the World Rugby Sevens Series three times.
Savaii Samoa is a former Samoa rugby union representative team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Samoan team in the Cup was Upolu Samoa. Savaii Samoa and Upolu Samoa were selected from tournaments that took place in Samoa. Most of the players selected in these two teams were local players.
Upolu Samoa is a former Samoa rugby union representative team that played in the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Samoan team in the Cup was Savaii Samoa. The players for Upolu Samoa were selected from all rugby union competitions in Samoa.
Tau'uta Reds is a former Tongan rugby union team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Tongan team in the Cup was Tautahi Gold.
Tautahi Gold is a former Tongan rugby union team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Tongan team in the Cup was Tau'uta Reds. The team's name is from the Tautahi, which was Tonga's traditional Navy Army. Gold was chosen as the team's colour from the Sun which Tongans use as their navigational campus.
Rugby union is the national sport in Tonga. Sumo has a following, while football, judo, surfing, volleyball, and cricket have gained popularity in recent years. Rugby league and Australian football are also played.
Prince Edward Park is a sportsground in Lalomalava, Salelologa, on the island of Savai'i in Samoa. The ground is used for rugby, as well as Samoa AFL, Cricket and Soccer. It is the home ground of the Savaii Samoa Rugby Union Team.
The 2006 Pacific Rugby Cup was the inaugural season of the Pacific Rugby Cup. It featured 6 representative rugby union football teams; 2 from each of the three Pacific rugby unions - Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
The 2007 Pacific Rugby Cup was the second edition of the Pacific Rugby Cup competition and featured 6 representative rugby union football teams; 2 from each of the three Pacific rugby unions - Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. It was played from 31 March to 5 May.
The IRB Pacific Rugby Cup 2009 was the fourth edition of the Pacific Rugby Cup competition. First held in 2006, the 2009 edition, like its predecessors, featured 6 representative rugby union football teams; 2 from each of the three Pacific rugby unions - Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
John Gregory McKee is a New Zealand rugby union coach. He is a former coach of the Fiji National 15s Team.
The 2010 Pacific Rugby Cup was the fifth edition of the Pacific Rugby Cup competition. First held in 2006, the 2010 edition, like its predecessors, featured 6 representative rugby union football teams; 2 from each of the three Pacific rugby unions - Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
Tonga A is a national representative rugby union team of the Tongan rugby union. It is the second-tier side to the Tonga national rugby union team. Tonga A competes in the Pacific Challenge, formerly known as the Pacific Rugby Cup, against teams including Samoa A and Fiji Warriors. Since 2017, the team has also competed in the Americas Pacific Challenge.
Samoa A is a national representative rugby union team of the Samoan rugby union. It is the second-tier side to the Samoa national rugby union team. Samoa A competes in the Pacific Challenge, formerly known as the Pacific Rugby Cup, against teams including Tonga A and Fiji Warriors. Since 2016, the team has also competed in the Americas Pacific Challenge.