Oceania Rugby confirmed today that two regional competitions will be held in Auckland over the June/July period the Oceania Rugby Super Sevens on 24-26 June and the annual Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship on 9-17 July.
Six men’s and 6 women’s teams will participate in the Oceania Rugby Super Sevens, with Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga to be joined by an invitational Oceania side.
The Oceania Rugby Super Sevens will be held at Navigation Homes Stadium on 24-26 June 2022. The event is designed to provide a boost to team preparations ahead RWC Sevens 2022 and 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Two weeks later the annual Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship will return over three match days between Massey Park and Navigation Homes Stadium for the first time since 2019. The 2022 Championship provide valuable preparation for Fiji, ahead of Rugby World Cup 2021 (playing in 2022) and will be the first time Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga have played on the international stage since 2022.
Both events will give fans all across Counties Manukau and Auckland the chance to see heroes of both the sevens and women’s game.
Oceania Rugby Interim, General Manager, Lemalu Wayne Schuster highlighted the importance of these events saying:
“We have the World, Olympic and Commonwealth Sevens Champions in our region and we intend on giving our teams the best preparation possible to retain the coveted top prizes in Rugby Sevens.
"The border closures and impact of Covid within our region has had ongoing effects on team performances. This event provides a unique competition preparation for our teams in a boost ahead of their campaigns.”
“The South Auckland community has a strong Pasifika heritage, and we are looking forward to seeing the support for all of the teams across both competitions in the coming weeks.
Partnering with Oceania Rugby in delivering these events is Counties Manukau Rugby Aaron Lawton, Chief Executive Officer for Counties Manukau Rugby Union said:
““We are delighted to have these tournaments taking place in our region. There is such a Pasifika flavour to our community and we know people will really keen to see our New Zealand sides in action live for the first time in a couple of years so we think the matches will be well-attended.
“We look forward to working with Oceania Rugby to host these world class international events.”
The draw for the Oceania Rugby Super Sevens will be released on 14 June.
Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship Saturday 9 July 2022: Massey Park, Papakura Samoa v Tonga - Kick off 1pm Fiji v Papua New Guinea - Kick off 3:30pm
Wednesday 13 July 2022: Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe Samoa v Papua New Guinea - Kick off 5pm Fiji v Tonga - Kick off 7:30pm
Sunday 17 July 2022: Massey Park, Papakura Tonga v Papua New Guinea - Kick off 1pm Fiji v Samoa - Kick off 3:30pm *All times local
