2024 Rugby League Pacific Championships
| 2024 Rugby League Pacific Championships | |
|---|---|
< 2023 |
The 2024 Rugby League Pacific Championships are to be the third edition of the Rugby League Pacific Championship and the second under its current name (having previously been called the Oceania Cup in 2019). The championship will include a collection of international rugby league tournaments to be played from October to November 2024 between nations located in the Pacific region.
The competition format has been confirmed as Pacific Cup and Pacific Bowl competitions for both genders, with teams being divided between higher ranked and lower ranked sides respectively.[1]
The Asia-Pacific qualification tournament for the 2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup will be integrated into the 2024 Pacific Championships as the Women's Pacific Bowl competition.[2]
Background
[edit]The August 2023 announcement of the Pacific Rugby League Championships, by the NRL and Australian Government, indicated that Fiji and Australia would co-host the tournament in 2024.[3][4] In May 2024, Fiji National Rugby League chief executive Don Natabe announced that Fiji were expected to host five national teams in a month-long Rugby League festival.[5]
On 19 August 2024, news website Stuff reported that a men's match between New Zealand and Tonga had been scheduled for Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland on Saturday, 2 November 2024.[6] This was again reported three days later by The New Zealand Herald, going further with reporting New Zealand will host Australia on 27 October in Christchurch. The report also suggested that Samoa would not participate,[7] contrary to reports in England suggesting that Samoa had reduced the length of their tour of England from three to two matches in order to play both the tour and the Pacific Championships.[8][9] On 23 August 2024, the New Zealand Rugby League confirmed the fixtures for their men's and women's teams, including home matches in Christchurch and Auckland and an away match for the Kiwi Ferns in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.[1] A report on the NRL website confirmed that Australia's opening matches of the tournament would be a double-header at Suncorp Stadium on the weekend of 18-20 October, with the women playing Papua New Guinea and the men playing Tonga.[10] An exact date for this double-header was not specified.[10]
Teams
[edit]Squads
[edit]Playing squads will be announced closer to the tournament's October 2024 commencement.
Men's teams
[edit]| Competition | Team | World ranking[11] |
Coach | Captain | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Cup |  Australia |
1 | Mal Meninga |
James Tedesco | [10] |
 New Zealand |
2 | Stacey Jones |
James Fisher-Harris | [12][13] | |
 Tonga |
5 | Kristian Woolf |
Addin Fonua-Blake | ||
| Pacific Bowl |  Cook Islands |
10 | Karmichael Hunt |
Brad Takairangi | |
 Fiji |
6 | Wise Kativerata |
Tui Kamikamica | ||
 Papua New Guinea |
7 | Justin Holbrook |
Kyle Laybutt |
Samoa (ranked 3rd) undertake a tour of England with two Test Matches scheduled for Sunday, 27 October and Saturday, 2 November 2024.- The coaches and captains listed in the above table are incumbents, with the exception of Stacey Jones, whom New Zealand Rugby League appointed as their men's head coach in February 2024.[12]
Women's teams
[edit]| Competition | Team | World ranking[11] |
Coach | Captain | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Cup | Australia |
1 | Brad Donald |
Kezie Apps and Ali Brigginshaw | [10] |
| New Zealand |
2 | Ricky Henry |
Georgia Hale and Raecene McGregor | ||
| Papua New Guinea |
5 | Ben Jeffries |
Elsie Albert, Sera Koroi, and Belinda Gwasamun | ||
| Pacific Bowl (Asia-Pacific qualification tournament for the 2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup) |
Cook Islands |
6 | Rusty Matua |
Ngatokotoru Arakua | |
| Fiji |
26 | Josaia Dakuitoga |
Josephine Maejiirs | ||
 Samoa |
24 | Jamie Soward |
Niall Williams Guthrie | ||
| Tonga |
14 | Kelvin Wright |
Tiana Penitani |
Venues
[edit]The full list of venues is yet to be confirmed.
Officiating
[edit]Referees and side-line officials are expected to announced closer to the mid-October 2024 commencement of the tournament.
Men's Pacific Cup
[edit]Standings
[edit]| Pos. | Team | Pld. | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff. | Pts. | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia
|
Advance to Final | ||||||||
| 2 | New Zealand
|
|||||||||
| 3 | Tonga
|
NB: Samoa had intended to participate, however opted to a tour of England instead.
Fixtures
[edit]
Men's Pacific Bowl
[edit]Standings
[edit]| Pos. | Team | Pld. | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff. | Pts. | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cook Islands
|
Advance to Final | ||||||||
| 2 | Fiji
|
|||||||||
| 3 | Papua New Guinea
|
Fixtures
[edit]Men's Pacific Bowl fixtures are yet to be confirmed.
Women's Pacific Cup
[edit]Standings
[edit]| Pos. | Team | Pld. | W | D | L | PF | PA | Diff. | Pts. | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia
|
Advance to Final | ||||||||
| 2 | New Zealand
|
|||||||||
| 3 | Papua New Guinea
|
NB: All three teams have already qualified for the 2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup.
Fixtures
[edit]
Women's Pacific Bowl
[edit]The 2024 Women's Pacific Bowl will act as the Asia-Pacific qualification tournament for the 2026 Women's Rugby League World Cup with all Pacific Cup teams having already qualified. First place team will qualify directly for the tournament, whereas the second place will qualify for the Inter-confederation playoffs which they will have to win to qualify for the World Cup.[14][15]
The format of the Women's Pacific Bowl is yet to be confirmed.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "2024 rugby league Pacific Championships schedule announced with three Tests in Aotearoa". NZRL. 23 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ https://www.loverugbyleague.com/post/2026-rugby-league-world-cup-womens-qualification-process-announced-with-four-nations-places-already-secured
- ^ "Pacific Rugby League Championships". Prime Minister of Australia. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ Evans, Kyle (18 August 2023). "Pacific State of Origin: PNG and Fiji to co-host to new international rugby league tournament". ABC. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "Fiji to host Pacific Championship". Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ Long, David (19 August 2024). "Kiwis to play Tonga at Mt Smart Stadium in rugby league showdown". Stuff. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/rugby-league/rugby-league-kiwis-to-host-australia-tonga-as-pacific-championships-return-for-2024/MMBNMNMQFZFCFOFOAO355AQUFM/
- ^ "Venues revealed for England-Samoa rugby league Test series". Love Rugby League. 13 June 2024.
- ^ McHugh, Robert (13 June 2024). "Revealed: England set to confirm end-of-season opponents for historic Test Series".
- ^ a b c d Walter, Brad; Edwards, Colleen (23 August 2024). "No room for loyalty as Mal vows to restore 'Roos pride". NRL. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ a b "IRL World Rankings: June 30, 2024". International Rugby League. 26 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
- ^ a b "Stacey Jones Appointed NZ Kiwis Head Coach". NZRL. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "Stacey Jones Confirms New Zealand Kiwis Staff For 2024 Pacific Championships". NZRL. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup 2026 women's qualifying process announced". Rugby League International Federation.
- ^ "2026 Rugby League World Cup: Women's qualification process announced, with four nations' places already secured". LoveRugbyLeague. 15 December 2023.