Pacific Rugby Cup

[SuperGrover]

On the other hand, the Crusader Knights team that lined up against Tonga A (winning 58 - 6) have a number of players that even I recognise:

Crusader Knights:
1. Joe Moody CRFU
2. Ben Funnell (Capt) CRFU
3. Nick Barrett Southland
4. Ross Kennedy Hawkes Bay
5. Dominic Bird CRFU
6. Codie Taylor CRFU
7. Jed Brown CRFU
8. Luke Whitelock CRFU
9. Willi Heinz CRFU
10. Tom Taylor CRFU
11. Mitchell Scott Tasman
12. Mike Wells Tasman
13. Kieran Fonotia Tasman
14. Rhys Llewellyn CRFU
15. Tom Marshall Tasman

Reserves:
16.Quentin McDonald Tasman
17.Sam Pratley Tasman
18.Nick Ross CRFU
19.Jordan Taufua CRFU
20.Mark Swanepol CRFU
21.James Schrader CRFU
22.James Lowe Tasman

From that team I recognise Kennedy, Whitelock, Heinz, Taylor, Marshall and McDonald from the Crusaders SuperRugby team.

While for those wondering where Swanepol had disappeared to, the Crusader Knights bench apparently.

 

[qwerty51]

There's a few Super rugby players there, most played ITM cup.

 

[RoffsChoice]

2013 season starts this Friday, with the Junior Waratahs taking on the defending champions, the Fiji Warriors, 4:50pm at Allianz Stadium. Then in Canberra, the Brumby Runners take on Samoa A, 6:00pm at Viking Park. Finally, the Reds College XV take on Tonga A, 3:00pm on Saturday at Ballymore.
Quite a lot of those Samoans, Fijians and Tongans are extremely talented with ITM Cup teams looking to take them for their own. You may well see them for a NZ team in Super Rugby soon enough. As far as I know tickets are free, so go along and enjoy the show of a good game.

 

[Brumby Jack]

Pacific Rugby Cup for 2014 announced.

http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediaz...tml#pacific+rugby+cup+2014+fixtures+announced

And the draw - http://www.irb.com/mm/document/tournament/home/02/06/99/95/prctournamentschedule.pdf

 

[Lee Grant]

We knew already that Argentina would be in the PRC for the first time but there are a few odd looking games in there that are probably not part of the PRC itself.

Usually the visitors have been playing in Oz and NZ and the Anzac teams did not gain points because only the visitors points counted.

But this year the visitors are playing in Australia only and four Oz teams are nominated as being in pools. To further complicate the matter: Argentina and Japan are playing against Oz Under 20 teams.

Are the Aussie teams part of the competition? I guess we will find out eventually, but it doesn't really matter because the main purpose is that developing players will be playing higher level games than they usually get.
.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

No NZ teams competing?

 

[Intruder]

No Rebel rising ?

 

[TOCC]

Rebels are probably trying to cut costs..


I wonder how Fiji will go with the recent funding cut by the IRB.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Are the Aussie teams part of the competition? I guess we will find out eventually, but it doesn't really matter because the main purpose is that developing players will be playing higher level games than they usually get.
.

I would guess so. Otherwise, what point would there be to the Waratahs A playing the Brumbies A if not for points counting towards the competition?

 

[kiap]

Should be a good tournament.

Looks like Qld and NSW will also play their U20s against Japan and Fiji respectively as part of the lead-in to the new National U20 Competition.

 

[Lee Grant]

Looking at the schedule in the previous post it looks curiouser and curiouser.

The number of games to be played by each team is:

5 - Argentina, Fiji
4 - NSW, ACT, Samoa, Tonga, Japan
3 - Force, Reds
1 - NSW U20, Reds U20

= 38 participations, or 19 games.

As far as the Aussie teams are concerned it is more about the participation than the tournament but I wonder how it works.

The winner of one pool is supposed to play the winner of the other—but teams in the same pool don't play the same amount of games.

Even if you count only the games between the visiting teams, it doesn't make sense: Japan plays Fiji but none of the other visiting teams.

And why the Under 20 ring-ins: all these matches are competition games (unlike the Argentina warm-up game last Saturday).

And why not the Rebels Rising instead of the U20s?

The NSW Under 20s will have four trial games without this fifth one—although this PRC game will have only players selected for the National Under 20 competition in it, unlike the trial games, which have all the hopefuls appearing.

It was curious last year but 2014 is more so.
.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

The number of games to be played by each team is:

5 - Argentina, Fiji
4 - NSW, ACT, Samoa, Tonga, Japan
3 - Force, Reds
1 - NSW U20, Reds U20

What on earth are they doing? Now it no longer means ANYTHING to win it? I watch most of the games every year from here in Japan and they have some great old ding-dong battles. The top island blokes all come back from their flash euro contracts to front up, top stuff. Now its been reduced to an aussie development programme? Would Toulon etc release their blokes to play against NSW U20 etc?

 

[Bairdy]

What on earth are they doing? Now it no longer means ANYTHING to win it? I watch most of the games every year from here in Japan and they have some great old ding-dong battles. The top island blokes all come back from their flash euro contracts to front up, top stuff. Now its been reduced to an aussie development programme? Would Toulon etc release their blokes to play against NSW U20 etc?

I think you're confusing the Pacific Rugby Cup, with the Pacific Nations Cup. The former is a development comp

 

[TOCC]

Yep, Pacific Nations Cup runs in June, this competition is a development competition by the IRB designed to lift the development the level below the Pacific Nations Cup I believe.


As for the draw split, well it may appear confusing if you break it down to U20s etc, but ultimately all the teams play each other 4 times, the 5th game for Fiji vs Argentina is a little bizarre given it's scheduled for the same day as the GF.

 

[Dismal Pillock]

oh shit, what am I on?! Wrong bloody comp! As you were then! Stupid foreign dyslexic prick wanders into foreign forum and throws a spacco over nuthin!




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[TOCC]

from the IRB, Pacific Rugby Cup:

The main objective of this tournament, which runs until March 23, is to bridge the gap between domestic and international Rugby for the best locally-based players from the participating Unions. The Pampas XV, Argentina's main development squad formed from the Union's best domestic based players, will complete a strong line-up.

Alternatively the Pacific Nations Cup which is hosted during the June Test window so clubs players are released for those test matches.
Pacific Nations Cup 2014 will feature 6 teams split in two pools, the Northern Pacific pool of Japan, Canada and the USA. Southern Hemisphere pool features Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

 

[No.8]

ACT are playing most of their games at RMC and not Viking Park - I get the feeling if the 3rd tier comes around RMC could be the home ground - considering Vikings are not touching it anymore and Bruce Stadium would simply not be a viable location.

 

[kiap]

Looking at the schedule in the previous post it looks curiouser and curiouser.

Lee, I'd reckon the teams in each pool play each other once. So that's 3 games each for Pool A and 4 games each for Pool B, as per the (split up) schedule below. The top two teams from each pool play-off in the final.

My guess is that the U20 matches wouldn't count for pool points, but would provide a guaranteed 4th match each for the teams from Japan and Fiji (as well as preparation for our U20s). That way all international teams get a minimum of 4 games in this tournament sponsored by the IRB.

The Argentina Pampas v Fiji Warriors game is presumably an extra development game scheduled as the curtain-raiser to the final. I suppose that match would be at risk if either side topped their pool, unless other side(s) wanting a match filled the breach.

 

[Battalion]

from the IRB, Pacific Rugby Cup:

Alternatively the Pacific Nations Cup which is hosted during the June Test window so clubs players are released for those test matches.
Pacific Nations Cup 2014 will feature 6 teams split in two pools, the Northern Pacific pool of Japan, Canada and the USA. Southern Hemisphere pool features Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

2013 PNC (Pacific Nations Cup) was mainly held in japan. final standings fiji, canada, tonga, japan, usa.

be great to see japan one day the calibre of top 5 nations. remember the tokyo bledisloe in '09. 45,000 through the gate.

international rankings with PNC (Pacific Nations Cup) teams.

1 NEW ZEALAND 93.81
2 SOUTH AFRICA 89.34
3 AUSTRALIA 86.88
4 ENGLAND 85.46
5 IRELAND 80.76
6 WALES 80.60
7 FRANCE 80.56
8 SAMOA 77.34
9 ARGENTINA 76.44
10 SCOTLAND 76.35
11 FIJI 74.21
12 TONGA 73.21
13 JAPAN 72.06
14 ITALY 72.05
15 CANADA 70.75
16 GEORGIA 69.57
17 ROMANIA 68.66
18 USA 67.41

 

[RugbyReg]

For those following the PRC (doesn't include todays game between Samoa and Tonga):