Canada and the US are to rejoin the Pacific Nations Cup this year in a rejigged two-stage six-team competition that ends with finals in Japan.
World Rugby said in a news release that it was “creating an annual competition and rivalries like those seen in the men’s Six Nations and Rugby Championship.”
It said the finals in the revamped annual competition would alternate between Japan and the US.
Photo:AFP
The cup is to start with two three-team groups in August with Fiji, Samoa and Tonga in one and Japan, the US and Canada in the other. Each must play one home game and one away game as they face the other two teams in their group once each.
All six countries are then to head to Japan in September for the finals, which are to open with the two third-place group finishers facing off and the two semi-finals. The following weekend the two semi-final losers are to play for third, while the winners meet in the final. The three games on the first weekend would be in Tokyo, and the two on the second weekend would be in Osaka.
Japan coach Eddie Jones told World Rugby that he was looking forward to the competition.
“The Pacific Nations Cup is really important for Japan, because it allows us to play regular tests against strong countries in tournament conditions, which is great practice for the players for the Rugby World Cup,” the former Australia and England coach said.
“The Pacific Nations Cup fits in right next to the Rugby Championship and Six Nations in providing that regular competition for Pacific nations,” he added.
“Tonga will take this challenge with a smile and a thumping heart,” acting Tonga Rugby Union CEO Aisea Aholelei said.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
“I don’t remember the moment, but ever since I was a kid, that’s the first thing I loved,” two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas said of his lifelong romance with basketball. However, that journey unfolded against the limitations of his size in a game where height often dictates opportunity — a reality he confronted throughout his career. At 175cm, Thomas is less than 2cm taller than the average Taiwanese adult male, while NBA players during his career stood at about 200cm on average. Compared with the NBA’s average career length of less than five years, Thomas’ 13-season career stands out as
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Dakar and Rabat have longstanding ties, but relations have been strained since the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, which Senegal won in mid-January before being stripped of the title, which was transferred to Morocco. Now, the AFCON trophy is something of a thorn in the two countries’ sides. On Rue Mohamed V, the street where Moroccan vendors are based in the Senegalese capital, a police van is parked. “The police have been on high alert since the Confederation of African Football [CAF] decided to award the title to Morocco, but there have been no incidents,” a local resident said.
RSS