USA hosts Pacific Nations Cup finals with eye to '27 Rugby World Cup
Fiji players, celebrating last year's Pacific Nations Cup title, will try and defend their crown in September, with the United States hosting the finals of the six-nation tournament (Philip FONG)
The United States will host the knockout rounds of the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup tournament, organizers announced Wednesday, with three teams directly qualifying for the 2027 Australia Rugby World Cup.
The tournament next August and September will feature Japan, Tonga, defending champion Fiji, Samoa, Canada and the United States with semi-finals in Denver on September 14 and the final six days later in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Advertisement
The USA, which is set to host the 2031 Rugby World Cup and 2033 Women's Rugby World Cup, will also host a USA-Japan pool play match at Sacramento on September 6.
"With Rugby World Cups 2031 and 2033 inching closer, major event opportunities like the Pacific Nations Cup are key contributors in growing the American rugby fan base, engaging partners and raising the profile of our sport," USA Rugby chief executive officer Bill Goren said.
"We have a lot to look forward to this fall as our men's Eagles target Rugby World Cup qualification in front of the home crowd."
Teams are divided into Pool A, with Samoa, Tonga and Fiji, and Pool B with Canada, Japan and the USA with each nation assured one home match and at least three matches overall.
Advertisement
"By balancing high-performance standards with financial, environmental, and logistical considerations, the PNC offers a model that supports the long-term health of our sport," World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said.
Fiji and Japan have already qualified for the 2027 Australia Rugby World Cup.
The three other best finishers in the Pacific Nations Cup will also qualify for Australia with the last-place team to join a South America-Pacific playoff for a chance to reach the World Cup in two years.
js/nr
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Panthers can move to the verge of winning the Stanley Cup again if they beat the Oilers in Game 4
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Leading the Stanley Cup Final 2-1, the Florida Panthers can move to the verge of a second consecutive championship if they beat the Edmonton Oilers in Game 4 at home Thursday night. The Panthers were upbeat and relaxed at their final full practice before the potential swing game, with players downplaying the gravity of the situation.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Larry Nassar victims' lead attorney criticizes USA Gymnastics trans athlete policy handling
The Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal became a sudden talking point amid the backlash against Simone Biles for defending trans athletes in women's sports. Some critics, including Biles' target in her social media rant Riley Gaines, pointed to the abuse perpetrated by Nassar while criticizing Biles' stance on trans athletes. Then on Wednesday, a USA Gymnastics spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the organization's transgender eligibility policy and resources pages were deleted from its website in May, to "assess compliance with the current legal landscape." The lead attorney for the U.S. women's gymnasts who were affected by Nassar, John Manly, weighed in on the comparisons between the Nassar abuse and biological male inclusion in women's sports. "Larry Nassar was sexually assaulting children, that's fundamentally different," Manly told Fox News Digital. However, Manly believes that the leadership at USA Gymnastics and its method of deciding to allow trans athletes in the women's category is the same type of leadership method that allowed the Nassar scandal to occur. "I think that's precisely right," Manly said. "[Female gymnasts] are in that position with that trans athlete in the locker room because of the organizations that create policies. … In that same token, Larry Nassar was created and allowed to flourish because they didn't have policies preventing precisely what he was doing. He was treating little girls in their hotels rooms alone on their beds, during the Olympics, there's no policy against it." Manly added, "Athletes are not first in this sytem, they're not. Money and medals are, and the people who run it are first." President Donald Trump signed his "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order in February, but the order only applies to institutions that receive federal funding, while USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) are private entities. As a lawyer, Manly questioned the validity of the organization's recent excuse of "compliance with the current legal landscape" for deleting the policy pages. "That's a bunch of nonsense," Manly said. "That's corporate speak for 'we're concerned that the political winds have shifted and people are taking a dim view of the policy' and they don't want to become Bud Light. "The reason Larry Nassar happened, one, is because they didn't put athletes first, and two, because they slithered around and tried to cover it up, and [it's] the same thing here. Make a decision, stand out and defend it." Still, unlike Nassar, Manly believes that blame does not always fall on the trans athletes themselves, especially those who are underage. Manly, who has known Biles for several years, believes the gymnast was trying to make a similar point in her recent controversial social media rant, but it was "misunderstood." "I think it's a misunderstanding. I think what I suspect what Simone was trying to say is 'we shouldn't blame children, child athletes, for competing when these organizations allow it. But I haven't spoken to her about it… I respect Riley Gaines and obviously I respect and love Simone, and I wish it hadn't happen, but I can't speak to that," Manly said. In December 2021, Manly helped Biles and fellow U.S. women's gymnasts Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichol secure a $380 million settlement from USA Gymnastics and USOPC over the Nassar abuse. Since then, the attorney has followed the issue's impact on the legal landscape, with an eye on Gaines' lawsuit against the NCAA for the inclusion of biological male Lia "Will" Thomas in the 2022 NCAA women's swimming championship. "I think it's really important," Manly said of Gaines' lawsuit's impact on women's sports history. "How that plays out is going to determine whether women's sports is going to continue as we know it or if it's going to change… the fact that the NCAA hasn't just owned up to it and come to a settlement with her is shocking to me." Manly says he would consider filing his own lawsuit against the USOPC if any American Olympians came to him with a legitimate case. "I'd file them to protect women, to protect female athletes, but I shouldn't have to file those cases, what should happen is the USOPC should step in and say 'were going to protect our athletes and we're going to have clarity," he said. While Manly hopes that the policies will be clear and allow fair competition in time for the Los Angeles Olympics, he says he has "no confidence," the policies will be at that point in summer 2028 if the current USOPC leadership remains in power. "I don't have any hope for anything with this board," he said. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Maybe the Pacers are just this good, plus a (scary) U.S. Open preview
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Fact-check your dad today. Three games aren't enough to judge a series, but we have a pretty clear narrative already in these NBA Finals: While Oklahoma City may be a slightly better team by most metrics, there is no group more clutch than Indiana. Undoubtedly. The Pacers are up 2-1 in this series after a 116-107 win last night, and I'm still agape at what happened last night. Two reads: Our friends at BetMGM have Indiana at just +200 to win the series now. I might favor them at this point. This is just good basketball. Onward: The rough, the rough, the rough. Have you heard about the rough at Oakmont, site of this week's U.S. Open? Coverage on the ground suggests missing a fairway is akin to throwing a ball in the Mariana Trench. Bye bye, ball. The Open begins today, and golfers will start teeing off shortly. Let's try to stay in the fairway for this preview: It all sounds a little … chaotic, right? It will be entertaining, do not fret. But if you need some zen beforehand, just look at the grounds crew cutting the grass via an army of push mowers: Wait for the maintenance staff member at 23 seconds. Shout out to those getting Oakmont in mint condition. — U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 9, 2025 Let's keep going: Dobbins addresses false Yankees claims Red Sox rookie Hunter Dobbins caused rancor last weekend when he told the Boston Herald he'd rather 'retire' than play for the Yankees — not just due to the rivalry, but because his father had been drafted by the Yanks twice and traded to the Diamondbacks. The thing is, per the New York Post, Dobbins' father never played for either New York or Arizona. Whoops. Dobbins seemed unfazed yesterday, saying he doesn't 'go and fact-check my dad.' It's all pretty funny. Read his explanation here. Advertisement More news 📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters. Many things make me feel like we live in a simulation these days, but seeing the pope wearing a White Sox hat during his weekly general audience in Rome might be the new No. 1 in my simulation power rankings. That's all. Almost done: 📺 Golf: The U.S. Open at Oakmont 6:30 a.m. ET on USA and Just keep it on in the background all day. 📺 NHL: Oilers at Panthers 8 p.m. ET on TNT/Max It's difficult to ever dismiss this Edmonton team, but going down 3-1 in this series, the way Florida has played of late, would feel like a death knell. I just hope it's a closer one than Game 3. Get tickets to games like these here. Politics and sports can often be inexorably intertwined. A new investigation from The Athletic reveals the latest surprising intersection: the charter airline that flies sports teams across the country … and does deportation flights for ICE. Read it here. Fresh off the digital presses this morning: Andrew Marchand went inside the world of Pat McAfee, including his banishment of Adam Schefter from his show. Wild stuff in there. This year's MLB anonymous player poll is finally here. I love seeing these unvarnished opinions. No, I would also not want to face Chris Sale in a tough spot. Read all the answers here. As silly as it sounds for people making seven and eight figures per year, raising a family while playing Major League Baseball can be extremely difficult. The relief? Summertime. As a dad, I found this fascinating. The best women's soccer player you don't know is Evelyn Shores, who has only won a national title this year, made a $1 million goal and scored for the USWNT U-23 team. Get to know her before she becomes a superstar. NBA coaches have quickly gone from a sharp-dressed group of suits to a cadre of quarter-zipped dudes. Will the league ever go back? Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on the Bengals and their weird fight with first-round pick Shemar Stewart. Most-read on the website yesterday: Rustin Dodd's story on that Roger Federer commencement speech, again.
