Fiji gear up for title defence
Four teams will battle it out in Suva next month, with Fiji Warriors hosting Samoa A, Tonga A and Junior Japan. The round-robin tournament will take place on March 10, 14 and 18 at the ANZ Stadium in the Fijian capital.
The World Rugby Pacific Challenge is a key developmental tournament for high-performance A sides, which creates a quality competition pathway for targeted investment unions.
World Rugby Chairman Bill Beaumont said: "The Pacific Challenge helps local and academy players gain beneficial game time and gives 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 next month. It’s certainly an exciting event for fans in Suva,"
In 2016 Fiji Warriors remind unbeaten and scored five tries and 36 unanswered points against Samoa A to lift the World Rugby Pacific Challenge trophy in front of a 4 000-strong crowd at the ANZ Stadium in Suva on Monday.
Tonga A, meanwhile, reserved their best performance until last to take third place in a high-scoring game against Junior Japan which ended 44-30.
