Japan prepares the challenge for Italy by winning the Pacific Challenge

The Japan XV won the Pacific Challenge overwhelming Tonga A 65-11, scoring eleven tries. It was their third bonus win, following wins over Manuma Samoa 48-5 and defending champions Fiji Warriors 45-43, in the previous two meetings. The Fijian selection finished second, beating Tonga A 43-18. The coaches of the major national teams present at the tournament organized by World Rugby, which saw a team mainly made up of under 23 players, a reservoir for the major ones. The attacking game reigned supreme, as the results show.

Development tool?

The Pacific Challenge it is a tournament between the Emerging national teams of Japan, Tonga, Samoa And Islands Fiji. It is one of the tools through which World Rugby tries to grow the game and the competitiveness of the national teams in that area of ​​the oval world, which has far fewer opportunities than Europe to have athletes play at a certain level. In the progress shown by Japan and Fiji, particularly in recent years, there is the contribution of this player development policy and therefore of the Pacific Challenge, together with the large group of foreign-trained rugby players for Japan, to the new rule that it allows those who have not worn the shirt of a national team for three years to play with their home team and to the formation of two franchises that play in Super Rugby for Fiji, Tonga and Samoa.

Who will we see against Italy?

The results of this tournament are also interesting from an Italian perspective. The summer tour of Italy will touch Tonga, Samoa and Japan (6, 13 and 21 July). Three important tests, all against national teams finally behind Italy in the world rankings. So it must be won to confirm the competitiveness of Gonzalo Quesada’s team, after the best Six Nations ever. How many of these Japan XV players will be chosen by coach Eddie Jones for the match against the Azzurri on July 21st in Sapporo? And how many Samoans and Tongans?

The history of the tournament

The World Rugby Pacific Challengeformerly known as Irb Pacific Rugby Cupis a competition established in 2006 by the International Rugby Board (now World Rugby) involving the A representatives of the three Pacific Island Nations of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Japan.

The original IRB Pacific Rugby Cup featured two teams from each of the three Pacific Islands countries. The competition is a continuation of the Fiji Colonial Cup, the Samoa National Provincial Championship and the Tonga Provincial Championship. It has provided a development path for players who will then play with their senior national teams in the Pacific Nations Cup.

The first tournament featured teams created for the occasion: Upolu Samoa, Savaii Samoa, Fiji Warriors, Fiji Barbarians and Tau’uta Reds and Tautahi Gold for Tonga. The teams participated in a round-robin tournament, playing a total of five matches. The first and second places entered the final for the title.

Since 2015, the national A teams of Japan, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga have participated in the tournament, although previous editions have seen the participation of the academies or second teams of the Australian and New Zealand Super Rugby franchises and national selections from Argentina and Canada.