U19 heads for Oceania tourney

The Cook Islands under 19 rugby squad are in full-on training for the upcoming Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU) tournament to be held in Apia, Samoa between August 23 and September 3.

The Oceania U19s Championship will be contested by Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Tahiti, Vanuatu and American Samoa.

Not only will the tournament determine the Oceania U19 champions and the regional qualifier for the International Rugby Board’s (IRB) 2011 Junior World Trophy, but also allows for players and coaches to gauge their standard and stage of development among other regional teams.

As in previous years of the championship, the tournament will feature friendly matches which will provide teams on opposite sides of the tournament competition pools with the opportunity to compete against teams seldom encountered.

Teams will not earn competition points from these ‘friendlies’.

The Oceania U19s Championship is not just a rugby tournament that delivers high level competition for aspiring young players. It is a tournament with a strong legacy programme linked to it – one that is designed to create a lasting benefit not only for players but for the rugby community and the broader local population of the host union.

The 2010 Oceania U19 Championship kicks off with the first of three triple headers at Apia Park on August 23 and culminates with the finals on September 3.

The 2009 Champions, Fiji, will not be defending their title which means a new Oceania U19 Champion will be crowned on 3 September.

The Cook Islands has been drawn in Pool 2 along with Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu while Pool 1 includes hosts Samoa, Tahiti and American Samoa.

The local side will take to the field on August 23 where they will play a friendly match against American Samoa and they will play their first proper game against PNG on August 26.