Japan to host Pacific Nations Cup
Japan have more time than any previous World Cup hosts to get ready for their 2019 hosting and they are already in action. Their latest venture is to host the sixth Pacific Nations Cup, also an IRB tournament, in 2011.
Four countries take part in the Pacific Nations Cup – Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga. (The Junior All Blacks, New Zealand Maori and Australia A no longer take part.) Samoa hold the title after winning at home last time when Samoa were the hosts. That was the first time just one country played host. This time it will be Japan, and all six matches will at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground in Tokyo, starting on 2 July 2011 and ending on 13 July. That means there will be two matches on each of the match days.
On the opening day Fiji play Tonga and Japan play Samoa. All four of the sides are well matched and exciting rugby is likely. Later in the year, at the World Cup in New Zealand, Tonga and Japan in Pool A and Fiji and Samoa in Pool D will play each other in the World Cup.
The IRB’s chairman Bernard Lapasset said: “Japan staged an exceptional IRB Junior World Championship and is preparing to host the first ever Rugby World Cup in Asia. The single-hosting format of the IRB Pacific Nations Cup has proved extremely popular, allowing a greater platform for broadcast and media coverage, attendances, training and legacy programmes. I have no doubt that the 2011 tournament will be a resounding success.”
Hosting the IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2011 will give a further boost to the exposure of the Game across Asia as Japan looks ahead to Rugby World Cup 2019 and a tournament aimed at bringing together the Asian Rugby family for a unique celebration of world-class Rugby across the continent.
The chairman of the Japan Rugby Football Union Nobby Mashimo said: “It is an honour to solo host the very important and prestigious IRB Pacific Nations Cup and we are grateful to the IRB for deciding to hold it next July in Tokyo. We look forward to welcoming the other participating Unions, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga and we would also love to see rugby fans from all the corners of the globe.
“We are very confident that it will be a great success and that the players, teams, management and spectators will thoroughly enjoy their stay in Tokyo where tradition and modernism so vividly co-exist.
“The tournament will give the world rugby family a glimpse of what lies ahead for Rugby World Cup 2019. See you next July here in Tokyo!.”
Since the latest round of Strategic Investment Funding was introduced in 2009, the IRB have committed a total of £3.05 million to the four Unions involved in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup for their High Performance Programmes and a further £2.25 million for the staging of both the IRB Pacific Nations Cup and the Pacific Rugby Cup in the region to increase global competitiveness. This level of investment will continue for the life of the Strategic Investment Funding programme, which runs from 2009-2012.
The IRB Pacific Nations Cup has been staged five times, and prior to the 2010 edition featured representative teams from New Zealand and Australia, namely the Junior All Blacks, New Zealand Maori and Australia A. In 2010, the tournament was contested by Samoa, Fiji, Japan and Tonga (in their finishing order) with all but one match staged at Apia Park.
In Asia, the IRB collaborates with the Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) to invest over US$3 million annually in development, high performance and tournament programmes across the region. In addition, the IRB is working directly with respective National Olympic Committees to ensure all the processes are in place for the continued growth of the sport throughout Asia.
