The 2024 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup was the seventeenth Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) tournament, and the first with a new format design. Similar to the 2019 tournament, the same teams played each other, with the same round-robin structure. However, unlike 2019, the 2024 edition had a finals series following the pool stage (hosted in Japan), to decide the champion. While Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and Japan did play each other in the lead-up to the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is scheduled to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the cou ...

, no official PNC tournament took place in 2023. As such, Samoa are the defending champions, having gone undefeated at the

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

iteration of the tournament. Fiji won the 2024 title, beating

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in the Grand Final, 41–17.

Pool stage

Pool A

Notes: * Vuate Karawalevu (Fiji), Lalomilo Lalomilo,

Jonah Mau'u Jonah Mau'u (born 28 July 1998) is a New Zealand rugby union player, currently playing for and . His position is flanker or number 8. Early career Mau'u attended Royal School Dungannon in Northern Ireland in 2017. While in Northern Ireland, he ...

, Brook Toomalatai and Tuna Tuitama (all Samoa) made their international debuts. ---- Notes: * Tupou Afungia, Tevita Ahokovi, Esau Filimoehala, Penisoni Fineanganofo, and Sam Tuitupou (all Tonga) all made their international debuts. ---- Notes: * Siaosi Nai and Salesi Tuifua (both Tonga) made their international debut. * Fiji scored the most points in a match against Tonga, surpassing the 47 points scored in 2003.

Pool B

Notes: * Kaden Duguid (Canada), Isaiah Collins-Mapusua, Nicholas McCurran and

Malo Tuitama Mal, which in Spanish means ''bad or evil'', may also refer to: Places *Malo, Italy, a town *Malo Island, formerly known as St. Bartholomew, Vanuatu *Malo (Solomon Islands), an island *Malo, Washington, Ferry County, Washington, United States * M ...

(all Japan) made their international debuts. * This was Japan's biggest victory against Canada in Canada (by margin). ---- Notes: * Pono Davis and

Sean McNulty Sean McNulty (born 07 October 1995) is a professional rugby union player who currently plays as a hooker for the LA Giltinis of Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played as a hooker for the MLR's New England Free Jacks and Rugby United Ne ...

(both United States) made their international debut. ----

Finals series

Bracket

Fifth-place play-off

Notes: * Tyler Matchem (Canada), Vutulongo Puloka (Tonga), Josiah Unga (Tonga) and Kafaikamoana Vaea (Tonga) all made their international debut.

Semi-finals

Notes: * Rand Santos and Toby Fricker (both United States) made their international debut. ---- Notes: * Elisapeta Alofipo and

Melani Nanai Melani Nanai (born 3 August 1993) is a Samoan rugby union player who plays as an outside back for the . Early career Born and raised in Samoa, Nanai came to New Zealand to attend high school at De La Salle College in the southern part of Auc ...

(both Samoa) made their international debuts.

Bronze Final

Grand Final

Notes: * Ponepati Loganimasi (Fiji), and Junta Hamano (Japan) are all set for their international debut.

Statistics

Point scorers

Try scorers

Participants and squads

''Caps and clubs as per the first match of the tournament (23 August 2024).''

Canada

On 12 August, Canada name an initial 35-player squad ahead of the Pacific Nations Cup. Tyler Matchem was called up on 12 September for Canada's Fifth-place play-off against Tonga.

Fiji

On 13 August 2024 the Fiji named a 30-player squad for their opening Pacific Nations Cup test against Samoa. Ponepati Loganimasi and Meli Tuni were called up to the Fiji team and named in their twenty-three man squad on 19 September for their final match against Japan.

Japan

On 7 August 2024, Japan named a 35-player squad for the Pacific Nations Cup.

Amato Fakatava is a Japanese rugby union player. Currently playing as number eight in the back row for the Black Rams Tokyo in the Japan Rugby League One, Fakatava also represents Japan at international level. Early life Fakatava was born on 7 December 1994 ...

, not named in the teams initial squad, was named in the starting twenty-three for Japan's second pool fixture against the United States. Taichi Takahashi and Yusuke Kajimura were called up to Japan's squad ahead of their

Semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

match against Samoa on 15 September. Junta Hamano was named as a replacement in Japan's squad for their final match against Fiji on 21 September.

Samoa

On 14 August, Samoa named a 31-player squad for the opening test of the Pacific Nations Cup against

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 ...

. After initially not being named in the squad, players Lalomilo Lalomilo (centre), Brook Toomalatai (prop),

(flanker) and

Danny Tusitala Danny Tusitala (born 18 October 1991 in New Zealand) is a Samoan rugby union player, who plays as a scrum-half (rugby union), scrum-half for Old Glory DC in Major League Rugby (MLR). In October 2021, he joined in the National Provincial Champ ...

(scrum-half) were all named in the opening round of the tournament. Samoa called-up Elisapeta Alofipo and

ahead of their

match against Japan on 15 September.

Tonga

On 17 August 2024, Tonga named a 30-player squad for the Pacific Nations Cup. Players Penisoni Fineanganofo, Tupou Ma'afu Afungia, and

Sosefo Sakalia Sosefo Sakalia (born 14 December 1991) is a Tongan professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Tongatapu club Kolomotu'a and the Tonga national team. Professional career Sakalia made his international debut at the 2015 World Ru ...

were named in the squad for Tonga's

second round The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds e ...

fixture against Samoa. Salesi Tuifua was selected for Tonga's second fixture in Pool A against

. Kafaikamoana Vaea, Vutulongo Puloka and Josiah Unga were all called up for Tonga ahead of their Fifth-place play-off match against Canada on 14 September.

United States

On 15 August 2024, the United States announced a 31-player squad for the Pacific Nations Cup. Payton Telea-Ilalio was named in the United States' replacements for their squad in their final match against Samoa.

Notes

References

External links

Pacific Nations Cup
web page at World Rugby {{DEFAULTSORT:World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

2024 in Fijian rugby union 2024 in Samoan rugby union 2024 in Tongan rugby union Pacific Nations Cup August 2024 sports events in Oceania August 2024 sports events in Canada August 2024 sports events in the United States September 2024 sports events in Japan