2008 Pacific Rugby Cup
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The IRB Pacific Rugby Cup 2008 was the third edition of the
Pacific Rugby Cup The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams (formed from the best locally based players, with most not alre ...
competition. First held in 2006, the 2008 edition, like its predecessors, featured 6 representative
rugby union football Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
teams; 2 from each of the three
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
s -
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
,
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
and
Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
.
Tautahi Gold Tautahi Gold is a former Tongan rugby union team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Tongan team in the Cup was Tau'uta Reds. The team's name is from the Tautahi, which was Tonga's traditional Navy Army. Gold was chose ...
beat
Upolu Samoa Upolu Samoa is a former Samoa rugby union representative team that played in the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Samoan team in the Cup was Savaii Samoa. The players for Upolu Samoa were selected from all rugby union competition ...
11 points to 3 in the grand final match to win the Pacific Rugby Cup for 2008, becoming the first Tongan team, and the first team outside of
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
, to win the trophy.


Teams

The 6 participating teams were: *
Upolu Samoa Upolu Samoa is a former Samoa rugby union representative team that played in the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Samoan team in the Cup was Savaii Samoa. The players for Upolu Samoa were selected from all rugby union competition ...
and
Savaii Samoa Savaii Samoa is a former Samoa rugby union representative team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Samoan team in the Cup was Upolu Samoa. Savaii Samoa and Upolu Samoa were selected from tournaments that took place in ...
from
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
*
Fiji Warriors The Fiji Warriors, also referred to as Fiji A, is a national representative rugby team of rugby union in Fiji. It is the second-tier side to the Fiji national team. The Warriors team is selected from players in the Fijian domestic competi ...
and
Fiji Barbarians The Fiji Barbarians is a Fijian former rugby union representative team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Fijian team in the Cup was the Fiji Warriors. The players were drawn from the Fijian domestic competitions. The ...
from
Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
*
Tau'uta Reds Tau'uta Reds is a former Tongan rugby union team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Tongan team in the Cup was Tautahi Gold. The team's name is from the Tau’uta who were the Tongan land warriors that fought in the w ...
and
Tautahi Gold Tautahi Gold is a former Tongan rugby union team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Tongan team in the Cup was Tau'uta Reds. The team's name is from the Tautahi, which was Tonga's traditional Navy Army. Gold was chose ...
from
Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...


Format and schedule

The teams played a single round robin (home or away) series. The two top teams in the final standings met in the grand final match, with the first ranking team awarded home advantage. The 2008 tournament followed the completion of Fiji's Colonial Cup, Samoa's
National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...
and Tonga's Provincial Championship and provided the coaches of the three national teams with a competitive player development pathway just ahead of the IRB
Pacific Nations Cup The Pacific Nations Cup is an international rugby union competition held between three Pacific states: Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. The 2019 edition of the tournament will also include the national teams of Canada, Japan and United States. First held ...
2008.
Upolu Samoa Upolu Samoa is a former Samoa rugby union representative team that played in the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Samoan team in the Cup was Savaii Samoa. The players for Upolu Samoa were selected from all rugby union competition ...
began its title defence away to 2007 beaten finalists
Tau'uta Reds Tau'uta Reds is a former Tongan rugby union team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Tongan team in the Cup was Tautahi Gold. The team's name is from the Tau’uta who were the Tongan land warriors that fought in the w ...
in Nuku'alofa on April 19, while
Fiji Warriors The Fiji Warriors, also referred to as Fiji A, is a national representative rugby team of rugby union in Fiji. It is the second-tier side to the Fiji national team. The Warriors team is selected from players in the Fijian domestic competi ...
faced
Tautahi Gold Tautahi Gold is a former Tongan rugby union team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Tongan team in the Cup was Tau'uta Reds. The team's name is from the Tautahi, which was Tonga's traditional Navy Army. Gold was chose ...
in Lautoka and 2006 champions
Savaii Samoa Savaii Samoa is a former Samoa rugby union representative team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Samoan team in the Cup was Upolu Samoa. Savaii Samoa and Upolu Samoa were selected from tournaments that took place in ...
played
Fiji Barbarians The Fiji Barbarians is a Fijian former rugby union representative team that played in the Pacific Rugby Cup from 2006 to 2010. The other Fijian team in the Cup was the Fiji Warriors. The players were drawn from the Fijian domestic competitions. The ...
in Apia. Four further rounds followed on consecutive weekends before the top two ranked teams contested the Grand Final on May 24.


Table

: :


Match results


Round One


Round Two


Round Three


Round Four


Round Five


Final


References


External links


FORU website
{{Rugby08, state=collapsed World Rugby Pacific Challenge
Pacific Rugby Cup The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams (formed from the best locally based players, with most not alre ...
Pacific Rugby Cup The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams (formed from the best locally based players, with most not alre ...
Pacific Rugby Cup The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams (formed from the best locally based players, with most not alre ...
Pacific Rugby Cup The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams (formed from the best locally based players, with most not alre ...
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...