This is quite an interesting article and maybe hold some validity as a model for our region.....


The International Rugby Board ( IRB ) has today announced that Australia A will make its debut in the new IRB Pacific Nations Cup in 2007.


The exciting new Tournament replaces the IRB Pacific 5 Nations and
Australia A's inclusion alongside Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and the

Junior All Blacks gives a further and significant boost to the ongoing high performance development plans within the four Tier 2 Pacific nations.

"The inaugural IRB Pacific 5 Nations tournament in 2006 proved to be an outstanding success as it provided the platform for the Pacific Island nations and Japan to gain valuable exposure to an expanded Test calendar against high level opposition,"

said International Rugby Board Head of Rugby Services Mark Egan.

Follow up:

"The introduction of Australia A to the new-look IRB Pacific Nations Cup adds a further competitive edge to the round-robin format, guaranteeing an even greater number of top-level matches for the Tier 2 Unions and greatly assisting in Rugby World Cup 2007 preparations. The Tournament will provide an excellent testing arena for the high performance programmes that are being developed in each Tier 2 Union through the IRB's US$ 50 million, three-year global strategic investment programme, which was launched in August 2005."

"The aim of the global strategic investment programme is to increase the competitiveness of the world Game and Rugby World Cup. The programme affords Tier 2 and Tier 3 Unions increased investment in cross-border and international competition, High Performance programmes and Union infrastructure initiatives, resulting in higher playing standards, increased elite player depth and ultimately an improvement in overall competitiveness of the Game at Test level,"

added Egan.


For Australia, involvement in the Tournament provides an important
stepping-stone to Wallaby selection through it's A side, affording vital experience to players new to the international arena in a competitive format and allowing Wallaby squad players the chance to play international rugby while staking their claim for a regular Test spot ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup.


The IRB Pacific Nations Cup will follow the successful IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, which involves two representative sides from each of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga, and completes the development pathway for Pacific Island players from club level through to the Test arena.



The competition kicks-off on May 26 when Samoa host reigning champions the Junior All Blacks, Tonga play Australia A and Fiji tackle Japan (Samoa's Round Three fixture against Fiji will be played on May 19 owing to pre-existing Test commitments). Four further rounds of action will then follow before the Pacific Nations Cup champions are crowned on June 24.