Oceania Rugby Cup

Oceania Rugby Cup
Sport Rugby union football
Instituted 2005
Number of teams 4 (2015)
Region Oceania
Holders Papua New Guinea (2015)
Most titles Papua New Guinea (4 titles)

The Oceania Cup is an international rugby union competition for countries and territories from Oceania with national teams in the developmental band. It is administered by Oceania Rugby (formerly known as FORU).

The tournament has been played under various formats depending on the number and strength of the teams entered. The first competition was held in 1996-97 as part of the qualification process for the 1999 Rugby World Cup.

The competition was officially re-launched as the FORU Oceania Cup for the 2007 season. From 2009 onward, it has been held bi-annually and it has been played under a round robin format since 2011, with the title awarded to the leading team on the ladder after all matches are completed.

The 2009 champions were Papua New Guinea, who defeated the Cook Islands 29-21 in the final.[1] Papua New Guinea retained their title in 2011, winning the round-robin tournament over Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Niue.[2]

Cook Islands defeated Papua New Guinea 37-31 on the final day of the 2013 tournament, winning the tournament from the defending champions, with Solomon Islands third, and Tahiti fourth. The Cook Islands did not compete in 2015, and Papua New Guinea claimed their fourth title with Tahiti finishing as runner-up.[3]

Teams

Competing nations in the FORU Oceania Cup are:

Note: The Band 1 teams from Oceania (Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa, and Tonga) do not participate in the FORU Oceania Cup.

Summary

Winners and runners-up for official FORU and IRB (WR) developmental tournaments in Oceania:

Oceania tournaments

Year Winner Score Runner-up Match venue Refs
1996*  Cook Islands round-robin  Papua New Guinea Rarotonga [4]
2002*  Papua New Guinea 29–14
16–21		  Cook Islands Port Moresby
Rarotonga		 [5]
2005*  Cook Islands 37–12
11–20		  Papua New Guinea Rarotonga
Port Moresby		 [6]
2006 The final of the 2006 FORU Cup between Vanuatu and Niue was cancelled. [7]

Oceania Cup

Year Winner Score Runner-up Match venue Refs
2007dagger  Papua New Guinea 46–27  Niue Paliati, Alofa [8]
2008  Niue 27–5  New Caledonia Noumea [9]
2009*  Papua New Guinea 29–21  Cook Islands Port Moresby [1]
2011  Papua New Guinea round-robin  Solomon Islands Port Moresby [2]
2013*  Cook Islands round-robin  Papua New Guinea Port Moresby [10]
2015  Papua New Guinea round-robin  Tahiti Port Moresby [11]
2017* Qualification stage for the 2019 Rugby World Cup

Notes:

* Part of the Rugby World Cup qualification process.
dagger The final of the 2007 tournament was not held until April 2008. Starting from 2009, the tournament has been held biennially.

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 Crucial qualifiers IRB. (2009).
  2. 1 2 PNG claim Oceania Cup IRB. (2011).
  3. ↑ "OCEANIA CUP 2015 / Points table". ESPN Scrum. 30 August 2015. Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015. (Note: ESPN table is incorrect as bonus points have not been included.)
  4. ↑ "1999 Rugby World Cup Qualifier Results". ESPN Scrum. 1 September 1996.
  5. ↑ "2003 Rugby World Cup Qualifier Results". ESPN Scrum. 1 September 1996.
  6. ↑ The competition also served as rounds 1 and 2 of Oceania qualification for 2007 Rugby World Cup.
  7. ↑ "FORU Cup 2006 / Results". espnscrum.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "Niue Island v Papua New Guinea at Paliati". ESPN Scrum. 22 April 2008.
  9. ↑ "Niue take Oceania Cup rugby union final". ABC Radio Australia. 1 September 2008. Archived from the original on 16 September 2008.
  10. ↑ "Cook Islands defeat PNG to claim Oceania Cup and keep Rugby World Cup dream alive". Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions. 2013-07-14. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
  11. ↑ "Post Match Review ORC 2015 Final". Oceania Rugby. 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
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