“High Stakes in Pacific Nations Cup Opener: Fiji and Samoa Battle for Crucial World Rugby Rankings”
World Rugby has revealed the potential ranking changes ahead of the much-anticipated 2024 Pacific Nations Cup, which kicks off tonight.
The stakes are high for the Fiji Water Flying Fijians, as a heavy defeat in their opening game against Manu Samoa could drop them to 12th place. However, avoiding defeat would keep them in their current 10th position.
According to pre-match reports, even with a win, Fiji cannot surpass the teams ranked above them.
Samoa, preparing for their opener against Fiji, has the chance to break into the top 10 of the World Rugby rankings for the first time since July 2023. To do so, they must defeat Fiji by more than 15 points tonight.
If successful, this will be only the second time Samoa has been in the top 10 since the end of the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
A narrower win or a draw would still move Samoa up one spot to 12th, pushing Georgia down in the rankings.
Similarly, 14th-ranked Japan faces a crucial situation. Even a win over hosts Canada by more than 15 points won’t improve their ranking. A loss, however, would drop them below Portugal, while a Canadian victory would elevate them above Romania to 20th place.
New Zealand’s James Doleman will referee the Fiji vs. Samoa match. Doleman, who served as an assistant referee in a match between these two sides in July 2023, will officiate Samoa for the first time. He has previous experience with Fiji, having refereed their 15-15 draw with Georgia in 2021.
The Flying Fijians will face Samoa at 6 p.m. tonight at Suva’s HFC Bank Stadium.