The sports governing body has confirmed the World Rugby Pacific Challenge 2023 will take place in Apia, Samoa from 3-13 May and include national ‘A’ teams from Fiji, Japan, Tonga and Samoa.
The tournament will “allow future stars of the game in the region to develop their skills in a competitive environment against cross-border opposition” said World Rugby.
Lakapi Samoa CEO Faleomavaega Vincent added: “We are excited to be hosting this event in Samoa after the last three years of the pandemic but also a start on what is an exciting year for rugby in our region heading towards Rugby World Cup in France. We are grateful to World Rugby for bringing the games to Samoa and we look forward to hosting our friends from Japan, Tonga and Fiji.”
This is the first time the tournament will be run since 2020, joining a number of tournaments that are being held for the first time since before the global pandemic. These include the World Rugby U20 Trophy & U20 Championships which are being held in Kenya and South Africa respectively. The Japan U20 team will be competing in the Championship and Hong Kong in the Trophy tournament.
World Rugby Pacific Challenge 2023 Teams and Format
Samoa will be hosting teams and their first international World Rugby tournament in 13 years. 2023 also marks 50 years of diplomatic relations between Samoa and Japan. Their two senior teams will meet on 28 September at Rugby World Cup 2023 in France later this year.
The four men’s teams involved are:
- Manuma Samoa
- Fiji Warriors
- Tonga A
- Junior Japan
The tournament will be played across three match days in a round-robin format with each team playing three matches.
Winners in 2023 will be the team who records the maximum number of competition points across the tournament and the full match schedule has been confirmed. Junior Japan are the defending champions, while Fiji Warriors have a record nine titles in the competition.
- Each team can select a squad of 28 players and included must be 23 players who are 23 years of age and under as of 3 May 2023.
- Five players can be any age over 18.
World Rugby Pacific Challenge 2023 Fixtures
Apia Park | Kick-off times are TBC
MATCH-DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, 3 MAY 2023
- Junior Japan v Fiji Warriors
- Manuma Samoa v Tonga A
MATCH-DAY 2: MONDAY, 8 MAY 2023
- Tonga A v Junior Japan
- Manuma Samoa v Fiji Warriors
MATCH-DAY 3: SATURDAY, 13 MAY 2023
- Fiji Warriors v Tonga A
- Manuma Samoa v Junior Japan
2023 Rugby Tournaments
- World Rugby U20 Championships 2023-2024.
- World Rugby U20 Trophy 2023.
- Best International 2023 Rugby Tournaments In Asia.
- World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series 2023
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