Image: Samoa 2019 Pacific Games
APIA, 12 JULY 2019 (WORLD RUGBY)–Ten men’s and eight women’s rugby sevens teams will compete at the Samoa 2019 XVI Pacific Games on 12-13 July, taking place at the Marist Saint Joseph’s Sports Stadium in Lotopa, Samoa.
Teams from 12 countries across both men’s and women’s competitions will go head-to-head in the initial knock-out stage before battling it out for the bronze, silver and gold medals on day two.
In Pool A of the men’s competition reigning Pacific Games champions Fiji will take on Cook Islands, New Caledonia, Nauru and Wallis and Futuna. In Pool B, 2015 runners-up Samoa will face Tonga, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and American Samoa.
In the women’s competition, Pool A will comprise of Australia, who finished in second place in 2015, Samoa, New Caledonia and American Samoa. Reigning champions Fiji will play Papua New Guinea, Nauru and Solomon Islands in Pool B.
Fiji’s men were recently crowned champions of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series 2019 where their top four finish also guaranteed their place at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Two more teams – one men’s and one women’s – from the Oceania region will have an opportunity to qualify for Tokyo 2020 at the regional men’s and women’s qualification event which will be held in Suva, Fiji on 7-9 November 2019.
Rugby union has been an integral part of the Pacific Games since its inception in 1963. In 1999 the men’s competition switched from the 15-a-side format of the game to rugby sevens and the women’s tournament was introduced in 2011.
Spanning 20 venues, over 4,000 athletes and team officials representing 27 sports from 24 countries will participate in the Samoa 2019 XVI Pacific Games.
Source: PACNEWS
