 | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1966 (est.) |
| World Rugby affiliation | 1999 |
| FORU affiliation | 2000 |
| Website | VRFU |
The Vanuatu Rugby Football Union, or VRFU, is the governing body for rugby union in Vanuatu. It was established in the 1960s, but only became fully affiliated to the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 1999. [1]
The Vanuatu Rugby Football Union is a full member of the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU), which is the regional governing body for rugby union in Oceania. [2]
Vanuatu's national team, the Tuskers, has not yet played in a world cup but has competed at the South Pacific Games, including winning a bronze medal for rugby 15s (as New Hebrides) in 1966. [3] Vanuatu fields teams in 7s competitions as well as 15s. The national women's 7s team was established in 2011. [4]
In 2015 the country sent an Under 20 team to the yearly regional tournament, Oceania Rugby Junior Trophy where the team would come against pacific neighbors like Fiji, Tonga and PNG. The team came into the competition with some confidence after boasting some top local players and led by their captain who was based in New Zealand the team was hungry for success. Unfortunately the team proved to be undersized compared to their much larger opposition eventually finishing the tournament with 0 wins, 3 losses and recording only 1 scored in the whole tournament. This proved to be a disappointment to the team who were looking to play with a high tempo game due to their smaller stature. Final results from the 3 round tournament are as follows:
Round 1: Tonga 81 Vanuatu 0, Fiji 63 Papua New Guinea 0 Round 2: Tonga 55 Papua New Guinea 16, Fiji 109 Vanuatu 6 Round 3: Fiji 19 Tonga 10, Papua New Guinea 80 Vanuatu 7
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The Fiji national football team is Fiji's national men's team and is controlled by the governing body of football in Fiji, the Fiji Football Association. The team plays most of their home games at the ANZ National Stadium in Suva.
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.
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.
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 Solomon Islands national rugby union team represent Solomon Islands in the sport of rugby union.
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. 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 Papua New Guinea women's national football team is controlled by the Papua New Guinea Football Association (PNGFA). Its nickname is the Lakatois, which is a Motuan sailing vessel. Their home ground is the Sir Hubert Murray Stadium, located in Port Moresby and their current manager is Peter Gunemba. Deslyn Siniu is the team's most capped player and top scorer.
The Vanuatu women's national football team represents Vanuatu in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF). Vanuatu's home field is the Port Vila Municipal Stadium, located in the country's capital, Port Vila. The team is managed by Job Alwin.
Papua New Guinea is a tier three rugby union playing nation. They began playing international rugby union in 1965 and have yet to make the Rugby World Cup. Teams from Papua New Guinea have competed in the Commonwealth games.
Oceania Rugby, previously known as the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU), is the regional governing body for rugby union in Oceania. It was founded in 2000 to represent the interests of Oceania rugby within World Rugby, the international governing body. It presently encompasses fourteen full members and two associate members.
A cricket tournament at the Pacific Games, previously the South Pacific Games, was introduced in 1979 and was played intermittently at games in the 1980s and 1990s, depending on the facilities of the host nation. Since 2003, cricket has featured at every Pacific Games. Detailed records of the tournaments prior to 2003 have not been kept and beyond knowing what teams won the gold and silver medals at each Games, little is known with certainty of the first three tournaments.
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 most popular sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular sport in Australia is cricket, the most popular sport among Australian women is netball, while Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. Rugby is the most popular sport among New Zealanders. In Papua New Guinea, the most popular sport is the Rugby league.
The Oceania Rugby Women's Sevens Championship is the regional championship for women's international rugby sevens in Oceania. The tournament is held over two days, typically on a weekend. It is sanctioned and sponsored by Oceania Rugby, which is the rugby union governing body for the region.
The Papua New Guinea women's national rugby sevens team represents Papua New Guinea in international rugby sevens tournaments, particularly the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series, Oceania Women's Sevens Championship and Pacific Games. PNG's first international was in 2007 while hosting the first ever Pacific women's sevens championship in Port Moresby. In 2017, the team participated for the first time in the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series as an invited team at the 2017 Sydney Women's Sevens. Papua New Guinea made its debut at the Women's Sevens World Cup in 2018.
The Papua New Guinea Rugby Football Union, or Rugby PNG is the governing body for rugby union in Papua New Guinea. It was established in 1962 and was affiliated to the International Rugby Board in 1993.
The Papua New Guinea national rugby union team represent Papua New Guinea in the sport of rugby union. They played their first international in 2016. Papua New Guinea has not qualified for the Rugby World Cup as yet.
The 2017 Oceania Sevens Championship was the tenth Oceania Sevens in men's rugby sevens. It was held at ANZ Stadium in Suva, Fiji on 10–11 November 2017. The tournament was won by Fiji who defeated New Zealand 26–0 in the final.
