2011 IRB Pacific Nations Cup
Encyclopedia
The 2011 Pacific Nations Cup was a rugby union
tournament held between the four national sides on the Pacific Rim
: Fiji
, Japan
, Samoa
and Tonga
.
Samoa
was the reigning champion after they defeated Fiji
in the 2010 competition
at Apia Park
. This year the tournament began on on July 2 and ended on July 13, 2011 with most of the matches hosted by Fiji
. Only the match between Asian 5 Nations champion, Japan
and Samoa
was played at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
in Japan
. The tournament was moved to Fiji from Japan after the devastating March, 2011 Japan Tsunami.
The tournament was a round-robin where each team plays all of the other teams once. There were four points for a win, two for a draw and none for a defeat. There were also bonus points offered with one bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match and one bonus point for losing by 7 points or less.
Japan were crowned Champions after defeating Fiji and scoring their fourth try the last play of the final match of the tournament giving them the bonus point they needed to go with an earlier win over Tonga. Ill discipline by Fiji cost them the game and gifted the Pacific Nations Cup to Japan at the expense of Tonga. Fiji finished the match with 12 men after conceding 2 red and 3 yellow cards, an unenviable world record.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
tournament held between the four national sides on the Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...
: Fiji
Fiji national rugby union team
The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...
, Japan
Japan national rugby union team
The Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...
, Samoa
Samoa national rugby union team
The Manu Samoa is the men's representative side of the Samoa Rugby Union in both the 15's and the 7's for international competitions. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the affiliated rugby unions of Samoa. In Samoa, Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was...
and Tonga
Tonga national rugby union team
The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Kailao . They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and Samoa...
.
Samoa
Samoa national rugby union team
The Manu Samoa is the men's representative side of the Samoa Rugby Union in both the 15's and the 7's for international competitions. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the affiliated rugby unions of Samoa. In Samoa, Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was...
was the reigning champion after they defeated Fiji
Fiji national rugby union team
The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...
in the 2010 competition
2010 IRB Pacific Nations Cup
The 2010 Pacific Nations Cup was a rugby union tournament held between four national sides on the Pacific Rim: Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga. The competition was won by Samoa....
at Apia Park
Apia Park
Apia Park is a multi-function sports complex located in Apia, the capital of Samoa. Primarily used for rugby union events, Apia Park is the home stadium of the Samoa national rugby union team, Manu Samoa....
. This year the tournament began on on July 2 and ended on July 13, 2011 with most of the matches hosted by Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
. Only the match between Asian 5 Nations champion, Japan
Japan national rugby union team
The Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...
and Samoa
Samoa national rugby union team
The Manu Samoa is the men's representative side of the Samoa Rugby Union in both the 15's and the 7's for international competitions. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the affiliated rugby unions of Samoa. In Samoa, Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was...
was played at Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium
Chichibunomiya rugby stadium
in the Aoyama district of central Tokyo is the spiritual home of Japanese rugby union and the headquarters of the Japan Rugby Football Union.-Facilities:...
in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. The tournament was moved to Fiji from Japan after the devastating March, 2011 Japan Tsunami.
The tournament was a round-robin where each team plays all of the other teams once. There were four points for a win, two for a draw and none for a defeat. There were also bonus points offered with one bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match and one bonus point for losing by 7 points or less.
Japan were crowned Champions after defeating Fiji and scoring their fourth try the last play of the final match of the tournament giving them the bonus point they needed to go with an earlier win over Tonga. Ill discipline by Fiji cost them the game and gifted the Pacific Nations Cup to Japan at the expense of Tonga. Fiji finished the match with 12 men after conceding 2 red and 3 yellow cards, an unenviable world record.
Table
| Pos | Country | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 67 | 74 | −7 | 2 | 10 | |
| 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 101 | 68 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 70 | 87 | −17 | 1 | 5 | |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 71 | 80 | −9 | 1 | 5 |
Round 1
----Round 2
----Round 3
----Leading try scorers
| Top try scorers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Name | Tries | Team | |||||
| 1= | Kosuke Endo Kosuke Endo Kosuke Endo is a Japanese rugby union player. He was a member of the Japan squad at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, scoring a spectacular break-out try against Wales at the Millennium Stadium, and another against Canada in the 12-12 draw .He played for Toyota Verblitz before joining Canterbury for... |
2 | ||||||
| 1= | Ryu Holani | 2 | ||||||
| 1= | Sekonaia Kalou Sekonaia Kalou Sekonaia Kalou is a Fiji rugby union player who has also known by the name Sekonaia Qaranaqio. Sekonaia plays lock for the Kaikorai Rugby Football Club and for Otago in the ITM Cup... |
2 | ||||||
| 1= | Alesana Tuilagi Alesana Tuilagi Alesana "Alex" Tuilagi is a Samoan rugby union footballer. He currently plays for the Leicester Tigers in the English club competition, the Aviva Premiership, and has appeared numerous times for his national team Samoa... |
2 | ||||||
| 1= | Napolioni Nalaga Napolioni Nalaga Napolioni Vonowale Nalaga is a Fijian rugby union footballer. He plays as a wing, flanker and Centre. He is nicknamed Napoleon or Naps or Napo... |
2 | ||||||
| 6 | 16 players with 1 try each | |||||||
Leading point scorers
| Top 3 overall point scorers | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Name | Points | Team | |||||
| 1 | Kurt Morath Kurt Morath Kurt Morath is a rugby union footballer who plays as fly-half. Morath was part of the Tonga squad at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.- External links :* *... |
37 | ||||||
| 2 | James So'oialo | 19 | ||||||
| 3 | Nicky Little Nicky Little Nicky Tyrone Little in Tokoroa, New Zealand, is a rugby union footballer. He plays at fly-half. He is a nephew of All Blacks centre Walter Little, but represents Fiji at international level.-Career:... |
18 | ||||||
External links
- IRB Pacific Nations Cup – from the IRB website (June 06, 2011)
- Schedule
- (ESPN Rugby stats http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/index.html?id=1;type=class