The Solomon Islands men's national football team is the national football team of the Solomon Islands, administered by the Solomon Islands Football Federation. The Solomon Islands national football team was founded in 1978. They were officially recognised by FIFA a decade later, in 1988.
The Fiji men's 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 HFC Bank 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 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.
In qualification for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, a number of positions were available to Oceania nations. Fiji and Samoa qualified, joining automatic qualifiers Australia and New Zealand, while Tonga progressed to the repechage, where they faced South Korea.
The Solomon Islands women's national football team represents Solomon Islands in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) and is affiliated to the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC). Their current head coach is the former footballer Timothy Inifiri.
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.
Rugby union in Vanuatu, formerly known as the New Hebrides, is a popular sport. Vanuatu is a tier three rugby union playing nation. They began playing international rugby union in 1966 and have yet to make the Rugby World Cup.
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.
Rugby union in French Polynesia, particularly on the main island of Tahiti, is a popular team sport. Rugby union was first introduced by British, Kiwi and Australian sailors, and also through the French and the strong presence of the game amongst Pacific Nations. Top Tahitian clubs participate in the domestic club league, the Championnat de Tahiti. Clubs also competed in friendlies vs foreign club teams from neighboring nations as far across the Pacific to Chile.
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. While, Cricket is the most popular overall sport in Oceania.
The New Zealand national football team has competed in all ten editions of the OFC Nations Cup, and have won five times, the most recent coming in the 2016 tournament.
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 2011 FORU Oceania Cup for national rugby union teams in the Oceania region was held in Papua New Guinea at the Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby from 29 November to 3 December.
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.
The 2013 FORU Oceania Cup for national rugby union teams in the Oceania region was held in Papua New Guinea at the Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby from 6 to 13 July.
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.
