The inaugural Pacific Championships includes seven nations and will be held across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
The Australian Rugby League Commission said the inaugural Pacific Championships is the perfect way to foster the growth of the international game in the island nations.
NRL boss Andrew Abdo said rugby league is the game that brings us together.
“It’s a language we all understand, regardless of our culture, regardless of our heritage,” he said.
“It’s incredibly entertaining and engaging.
“But over and above that, this is probably the most inclusive part of our community; and whether you’re a player or you’re a fan, a volunteer, a referee – anyone in our game is welcome.”
The first two games of the tournament are rematches of the respective 2022 League World Cup finals.
On the women’s side, Australia and New Zealand kick things off at 6pm AEDT on Saturday.
The world champion Kangaroos take on Samoa later that night.
The tournament runs for a month and the men’s Pacific Cup sees the three highest nations compete against each other, while the men’s Pacific Bowl is a competition between the three lower-ranked nations.
Who is in which tier will change year-on-year depending on world rankings.
The women’s Pacific Cup competition has the Jillaroos and the Kiwi Ferns playing each other four times over the next two years, with the third match being alternated with a Pacific nation.
For 2023, that alternate is the Kiwi ferns against Tonga.
The women’s Pacific Bowl competition includes two Test matches, with a goal to increase that number.
This time around, it’s Fiji against Samoa, and PNG against the Cook Islands.
Fiji Bulikula assistant coach Shane Morris said for them this is step one towards making the next World Cup.
He said they are focused om what they can control – that’s making sure they’re controlling the ball, getting over the advantage line, and completing their sets.
“But also in attack, we’re staying connected; but also we’re knowing our job and our role. If we can work on those things we’re going to put in a good strong effort.
“And that’s our building base for the World Cup.
“This is our step one to getting there, but also it’s making sure we are putting the best team on the ground on Sunday to represent Fiji.”
Meanwhile, Tonga is in the UK for a three-test series against England, with the first match kicking off at 2:30AM on October 23rd, Tonga time.
Full Pacific Championships schedule: all times in AEDT
Saturday, October 14 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville
- Australia v New Zealand (women) at 6.00pm
- Australia v Toa Samoa (men) at 8.10pm
Sunday, October 15 at Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby
- Samoa v Fiji (women) at 1.45pm
- PNG v Cook Islands (men) at 4.00pm
Saturday, October 21 at Eden Park, Auckland
- New Zealand v Tonga (women) at 1.45pm
- New Zealand v Toa Samoa (men) at 4.00pm
Sunday, October 22 at Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby
- PNG v Cook Islands (women) at 1.45pm
- Fiji v Cook Islands (men) at 4.00pm
Saturday, October 28 at AAMI Park, Melbourne
- Australia v New Zealand (women) at 6.00pm
- Australia v New Zealand (men) at 8.00pm
Sunday, October 29 at Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby
- PNG v Fiji (men) at 4.00pm
Saturday, November 4 at FMG Stadium, Hamilton
- Men’s Pacific Cup final
Sunday, November 5 at Santos National Football Stadium, Port Moresby
- Men’s Pacific Bowl final
*Note: No final for women’s Pacific Cup or Pacific Bowl competitions.
