Tonga has been chosen to host the Pacific Leg of the Pacific Rugby Cup 2012, an official International Rugby Board (IRB) tournament to be held 11-19 October 2012, putting Tonga and the Tonga Rugby Union back on the international rugby circuit.

An official strategic partnership with the TRU and Digicel Tonga for the Pacific Leg of the Pacific Rugby Cup 2012 was announced today, with four matches to be played here.

"This collaboration enhances our current sponsorship of grass roots rugby in the Kingdom via the annual competition, Digicel Cup, which now includes coverage in all of the four islands, Tongatapu, 'Eua, Ha’apai, Vava'u," Digicel stated.

Digicel will be providing all logistics for the tournament on behalf of the TRU and the IRB. Included in this alliance will be event management, ticket sales, broadcasting and hosting of players and officials.

Tonga will be hosting the “A” Teams from Fiji, Western Samoa and a Crown Prince Team.

"The success of the new IRB Pacific Rugby Cup format, which was welcomed by the island teams and supported by the Australia and New Zealand franchises, means once again we can provide high level competition to bridge the gap between domestic and international competitions for the best up and coming players in the islands,” stated William Glenwright IRB Regional General Manager for Oceania.

Tickets for the tournament go on sale tomorrow, October 6, at Digicel Stores and merchants for all four games, and Digicel are also providing a range of prizes with $22,000 cash up for grabs and a weekend package for the Wellington 7’s with $5,000 pa’anga spending money.  

“We want to show the IRB that Tonga has the ability to host international tournaments, and our engagement of the local telecommunications provider, Digicel, allows us to have access to the latest technology and expertise that will keep us abreast with other overseas Rugby Unions and present us as serious contenders both on and off the field,” said 'Epeli Taione, President of the Tonga Rugby Union.

“Digicel looks forward to working with Tonga Rugby Union and the IRB on making this tournament a success, so that it sets a precedent for the future of Tonga and its ability to host and stage international events of this magnitude” said Stephen Bannon, Chief Executive Officer Digicel Tonga.

Annual event

The Pacific Rugby Cup is an annual rugby union development competition, which was first held in 2006, and featured representative teams from the three Pacific rugby union unions – Fiji, Western Samoa and Tonga. With funding from the IRB, the key development competition proved to be a hit in 2011 as the best locally-based players from the islands had the opportunity to pit themselves against the next generation of Super Rugby stars in Australia and New Zealand in a new-look tournament.

IRB Pacific Rugby Cup 2012 started on Thursday 9 February 2012 where teams participate in a three leg series, the first two featuring games against Super Rugby academy teams and the third featuring games between each other. The successful three-leg format is retained with the first hosted in Australia, the second in New Zealand and the third is now being held in Tonga. The winner is the team with the most competition points after ten games where the tournament can only be won by Fiji Warriors, Samoa A or Tonga A as they are the core teams, with the title decided following the final series.

Schedules

The schedule for the Tonga matches to be held at Teufaiva Stadium:

ROUND 7 - Thursday 11 October
4:00pm - Samoa A vs Tonga A

ROUND 8 - Monday 15 October 
2:00pm - Crown Prince XV vs Tonga A
4:00pm - Fiji Warriors vs Samoa A

ROUND 9 - Friday 19 October
4:00pm - Tonga A vs Fiji Warriors