2025 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host | USA (Finals) |
| Dates | 23 August – 20 September 2025 |
| Teams | |
← 2024 2026 → | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 23 August 2025 – 20 September 2025 |
| No. of nations | 4 |
← 2023 | |
The 2025 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup will be the seventeenth Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) tournament and will mirror the new format that was launched in 2024.[1]
Unlike in 2024, the finals series will be hosted in the United States.[2]
World Cup qualification
The 2025 edition will also double up as the Pacific (Americas North, Oceania and Japan) qualifying process for the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup, with the top three teams (outside of Fiji and Japan who have already qualified) qualifying for the Rugby World Cup as Pacific 1, 2 and 3.[3] The remaining sixth team in the competition will have two further opportunities to qualify. Initially, they will advance as Pacific 4 to a Sudamérica / Pacific play-off match against Sudamérica 2, for a chance to qualify for the World Cup as the Sudamérica America / Pacific play-off winner. The loser of that match will advance to the Final Qualification Tournament along with Belgium (as Europe 5), the winner of the Africa 2 -Asia 2 playoff, and Sudamérica 3.
Participants
| Nation | Rank | Began play | 2027 RWC Qualifying status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 23 | 22 August 2025 | |
| Fiji | 9 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2023 World Cup |
| Japan | 13 | N/A | Qualified with Top 12 finish at 2023 World Cup |
| Samoa | 14 | 23 August 2025 | |
| Tonga | 19 | 23 August 2025 | |
| United States | 15 | 22 August 2025 |
Pool stage
Pool A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiji | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Samoa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Tonga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 23 August 2025. Source: [4]
| 23 August 2025 15:00 TOT (UTC+13) |
| Tonga | v | Samoa |
| Teufaiva Sport Stadium, Nukuʻalofa[4] Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia) |
| 30 August 2025 15:00 FJT (UTC+12) |
| Fiji | v | Tonga |
| HFC Bank Stadium, Suva[4] Referee: Karl Dickson (England) |
| 6 September 2025 15:00 NZST (UTC+12) |
| Samoa | v | Fiji |
| Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua, New Zealand[4] Referee: Takehito Namekawa (Japan) |
Pool B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Japan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | United States | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First match(es) will be played: 22 August 2025. Source: [4]
| 22 August 2025 19:00 MDT (UTC-6) |
| Canada | v | United States |
| McMahon Stadium, Calgary[4] Referee: Luke Pearce (England) |
| 30 August 2025 17:00 JST (UTC+9) |
| Japan | v | Canada |
| Yurtec Stadium, Sendai[4] Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand) |
| 6 September 2025 18:00 PDT (UTC-7) |
| United States | v | Japan |
| Heart Health Park, Sacramento[4] Referee: Craig Evans (Wales) |
Finals series
Bracket
| Semi-finals | Grand Final | |||||
| 14 September – Denver | ||||||
| Pool A Winner | ||||||
| 20 September – Salt Lake City | ||||||
| Pool B Runners-up | ||||||
| 14 September – Denver | ||||||
| Pool B Winner | ||||||
| Pool A Runners-up | ||||||
| Bronze Final | ||||||
| 20 September – Salt Lake City | ||||||
Fifth-place play-off
| 14 September 2025 |
| Pool A third-placed team | v | Pool B third-placed team |
| Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Denver Referee: Damian Schneider (Argentina) |
Semi-finals
| 14 September 2025 |
| Pool A Winner | v | Pool B Runners-up |
| Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Denver Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland) |
| 14 September 2025 |
| Pool B Winner | v | Pool A Runners-up |
| Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Denver Referee: Luc Ramos (France) |
Bronze Final
Grand Final
Final standings
| Pos. | Team | 2027 RWC / WRNC Division 2 qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBC | Qualified |
| 2 | TBC | Qualified |
| 3 | TBC | Qualified |
| 4 | TBC | Qualified |
| 5 | TBC | Qualified |
| 6 | TBC | Advances to South America / Pacific play off (Unless Japan or Fiji finishes in this position) |
Participants
| Team | Stadium | Coach | Captain | World Rugby Ranking | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home stadium | Capacity | Location | Start[a] | End[b] | |||
| Canada | McMahon Stadium | 35,400 | Calgary | Steve Meehan | TBD | TBD | |
| Fiji | HFC Bank Stadium | 15,000 | Suva | Mick Byrne | TBD | TBD | |
| Japan | Yurtec Stadium Sendai | 19,134 | Sendai | Eddie Jones | TBD | TBD | |
| Samoa | Rotorua International Stadium | 26,000 | Rotorua, New Zealand | Tusi Pisi | TBD | TBD | |
| Tonga | Teufaiva Sport Stadium | 10,000 | Nukuʻalofa | Tevita Tuʻifua | TBD | TBD | |
| United States | Heart Health Park | 11,569 | Sacramento | Scott Lawrence | TBD | TBD | |
| Finals series played in USA | |||||||
| Semi-finals / Fifth-place play-off | Dick's Sporting Goods Park | 18,061 | Denver | — | |||
| Grand Final / Bronze Final | America First Field | 20,213 | Salt Lake City | ||||
See also
- 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup qualifying
- 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup – Regional play-off and Final Qualification Tournament
- 2025 mid-year rugby union tests
Notes
References
- ^ "World Rugby confirms new international men's competition to launch in 2024". world.rugby. World Rugby. 24 October 2023. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023.
- ^ "USA to Host Pacific Nations Cup 2025 Finals with direct qualification path to Men's Rugby World Cup 2027". USA Rugby. 7 May 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ^ "Qualification process confirmed for expanded Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia". Women's and Men's Rugby World Cup. 13 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Pacific Nations Cup 2025 set to deliver high-stakes action with direct qualification path to Men's Rugby World Cup 2027". World Rugby. 7 May 2025. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
External links
- Pacific Nations Cup web page at World Rugby