NZ Maori to kick off Pacific Nations Cup

Ready to Rumble: NZ Maori kick off their Pacific Nations Cup campaign against Australia A

The International Rugby Board (IRB) Pacific Nations Cup returns in June with the inclusion of a new team and heightened interest generated by the impressive performance of the Pacific Island Unions and Japan at the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

The New Zealand Maori will join Australia A, Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga in a tournament which features fifteen matches played in six countries over five weeks.

"The 2007 Tournament, won by the Junior All Blacks, was the most competitive to date, generating high-quality Rugby and providing an expanded Test schedule for the Pacific Island Unions," said IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset.

"It also captured the imagination of the Rugby community, with well-attended matches and strong broadcast coverage.

"The IRB Pacific Nations Cup has grown in two years to become a key event on the global rugby calendar and plays a significant development role for each of the participating unions, as highlighted by the number of players who graduated through the tournament to represent their country at the Rugby World Cup.

"Rugby World Cup 2007 was undoubtedly the most competitive World Cup to date and importantly revealed that our investment in new tournaments, player and coaching high performance programmes and union infrastructure programmes are already reaping rewards.

"The performance of some of the so called smaller unions at the tournament in France was undoubtedly a highlight and can be directly attributed to the expanded Test calendar, defined development pathway and high level of competition that is created by the hugely successful IRB Pacific Nations Cup," added Lapasset.

The importance of the tournament has been highlighted by Fiji head coach Ilie Tabua, who last year guided his team to the quarter-finals of a Rugby World Cup for the first time since the inaugural event in 1987.

"The Pacific Nations Cup provides a valuable platform for us to test our local players. As two-thirds of Fiji's Rugby World Cup 2007 squad were based overseas, we began the 2007 Pacific Nations Cup with heavy reliance on the locally-based amateurs," said Tabua.

"This allowed us to see which were capable of stepping up a notch to reach Test Rugby, and some went on to excel themselves at the Rugby World Cup.

"We need to set challenges for these young players and prime them for national duty. Come Rugby World Cup 2011, I expect a large percentage of the squad will have gone through the Pacific Nations Cup, which has given us an important schedule of regular Test matches," added Tabua.

The 2008 tournament will be the first to feature the famous New Zealand Maori, who replace two-time champions the Junior All Blacks as New Zealand's representatives in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup.

The move comes as a result of a thorough strategic review by the New Zealand Rugby Union.

"The New Zealand Maori team has been tremendously successful in recent years, winning the Barclays Churchill Cup twice in the past three years and has an excellent reputation of developing young talent for the Test arena," said Lapasset.

"The inclusion of New Zealand Maori will enhance the IRB Pacific Nations Cup's highly competitive format as well as the unique cultural element of the tournament. I am sure that the 2008 Tournament will be the most competitive to date."

The Tournament kicks off with three mouth-watering fixtures as Fiji host Samoa in Lautoka and New Zealand Maori make their IRB Pacific Nations Cup debut against Tonga in Albany on Saturday, June 7.

The following day, 2007 runners-up Australia A are hosted by Japan in Fukuoka.

Other highlights will include the Rugby World Cup replays between Tonga and Samoa and Japan against Fiji.

Samoa will be out to exact revenge after the Tongans defeated their close rivals for the first time in seven years during a memorable match in Montpellier.

Likewise, the Japanese will be out to reverse the result of their thrilling encounter in Toulouse where they were defeated 35-31 by eventual quarter-finalists Fiji.

Round One

(All times are local)

Saturday, 7 June

Fiji v Samoa

Churchill Park, Lautoka (14:05)

NZ Maori v Tonga

North Harbour Stadium, Albany (16:35)

Sunday, 8 June

Japan v Australia A

Hakata No Mori, Fukuoka (14:05)

Round Two

Saturday, 14 June

Fiji v NZ Maori

Post Fiji Stadium, Suva (15:05)

Samoa v Australia A

Apia Park, Apia (15:05)

Sunday, 15 June

Japan v Tonga

Sendai Yurtec Stadium, Sendai (14:05)

Round Three

Saturday, 21 June

NZ Maori v Samoa

Waikato Stadium, Hamilton (16:35)

Sunday, 22 June

Japan v Fiji

National Olympic Stadium, Tokyo (14:05)

Australia A v Tonga

North Sydney Oval, Sydney (14:05)

Round Four

Saturday, 28 June

Tonga v Samoa

Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku'alofa (13:35)

NZ Maori v Japan

McLean Park, Napier (14:35)

Sunday, 29 June

Australia A v Fiji

Ballymore, Brisbane (14:05)

Round Five

Saturday, 5 July

Tonga v Fiji

Teufaiva Stadium, Nuku'alofa (15:05)

Samoa v Japan

Apia Park, Apia (15:05)

Sunday, 6 July

Australia A v NZ Maori

Sydney Football Stadium (tbc)