The 2017 World Rugby Pacific Challenge is set to kick off at the ANZ Stadium in Suva next Friday.

The tournament will feature National ‘A’ Teams from Samoa, Tonga, Japan and defending champions the Telecom Fiji Warriors going head to head over two weeks.

The World Rugby Pacific Challenge is a World Rugby sanctioned tournament designed to bridge the gap between domestic and International rugby for the best locally-based players from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Japan.  The tournament exposes the Pacific Island players and management to some of the best professional rugby structures in the world.

The tournament continues to be a key element of the World Rugby’s global strategic investment program aimed at creating pathways for our players and teams.

Fiji Rugby Union chief executive officer John O’Connor said preparations for the operations of the tournament have been happening for the past couple of months with the final touches coming into place.

“The operations team headed by general manager Geoff Webster have been working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that preparations for the tournament are well in place,”O’Connor said.

“This tournament helps local players gain beneficial game time and gives the players exposure to a high-performance tournament environment.

Fiji won last year’s tournament but I expect they’ll face tough competition to retain the trophy this year.

It’s certainly going to be an exciting event for fans in Suva.”

“Junior Japan will be the first team to arrive into the country with Samoa ‘A’ and Tonga ‘A’ scheduled to arrive early next week before the tournament starts.  You will expect to see them at their training grounds or in town for the next two weeks, please give them a warm Fiji welcome when you see them out and about in Suva.”

O’Connor also urged all the Fiji fans to come out and support their favourite teams at the tournament.

Tickets have been priced at $10 for the Grandstand and $5 for the Grass and Cement Embankment.  They will be sold online at www.ticketdirect.co.nz and at the gates on the match days.

The Telecom Fiji Warriors take on Tonga A in their first match at 5.30pm next Friday, 10 March 2017, while the first match at 3pm will be Junior Japan against Samoa A.

The format of the tournament this year has changed and the team that acquires the most points from their scheduled matches will be declared the winner.

Feedback:  oseab@fijisun.com.fj