Samoa

The opening round of the Pacific Nations Cup left plenty to talk about. From the horrendous conditions at Apia Park, the wonderful new venue at Kamaishi, to the one-sided victory of the Eagles over Canada. There were new players to assess, a record-setting old-timer, and one particularly notable injury concern. …

Samoa recovered from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat Tonga 25-17 in the opening match of the Pacific Nations Cup. It was played in deplorable conditions at Apia Park, with standing water and repeat set pieces reducing the field to a bowl of mud and severely limiting attacking rugby. Kicking …

The 2019 Pacific Nations Cup kicks off on Friday evening in North American time with Samoa taking on local rivals Tonga. Both sides have named experimental lineups with their respective coaches taking the opportunity to look at new combinations ahead of the World Cup. Steve Jackson has sprung a surprise …

The 2019 Pacific Nations Cup is set to begin this weekend and for the first time since 2015 – also a World Cup year – there will be North American teams involved. It’s a tournament that many American fans would like to see return to the rotation on a regular …

Tonga have called up uncapped midfielder Mali Hingano for the Pacific Nations Cup following the withdrawal of Tasman’s Fetuli Paea. The 27-year-old Hingano is a native of Australia but qualifies for both Tonga and Samoa on ancestry. He is the only change to the 31-man Ikale Tahi squad. Hingano played …

RWC 2019 will make the second appearance of the world’s largest country on rugby’s biggest stage. With the rebranding from the former International Rugby Board (IRB) to World Rugby the opportunity of opening a RWC with Japan vs Russia is a dream come true for the organizers. Not only is …

Manu Samoa coach Steve Jackson has named a 33-man squad for the upcoming Pacific Nations Cup. Included are eight uncapped players, while a host of experienced internationals expected to be in consideration for the World Cup are unavailable for the three-match tournament. Among the new names are three locally-based players. …

Ranked 3rd in the world, Ireland is a serious contender to win RWC 2019. Having won their pool in the previous two RWC tournaments the men in green are a definite team who have the potential to make history in Japan. It is fair to ask if this Irish side …

Fiji won their 5th event of the season in Paris to claim the overall 2018-19 HSBC Sevens Series title on Sunday. The deciding match came in the Cup Semi Finals against the USA where the Fijians proved a class apart, winning 33-14 to clinch top spot. It’s the fourth World …

The 2018-2019 HSBC Sevens Series comes to a close in Paris this weekend. With all four automatic qualification tickets for the Olympics now claimed, there are two major questions to be answered: 1) Who will win the overall series title? and 2) Who will be relegated from core status? The …