Pacific Cup Touch Games .
The Pacific Cup Touch tournament, a two-day rugby competition, was recently concluded at Mountfort Park, Auckland. The tournament was launched in 2019 by the Pacific Cup Sports Trust, a not for profit organisation focused on helping grow pasifika participation in Touch Rugby.
The games had participating teams from Cook Islands, Samoa, Fiji, Niue, Aotearoa Māori and Tonga ranging in age from 10-years in the junior grade to 45-years in the senior adult mixed teams.
According to the organisers, this years tournament is the biggest yet after growing over the past years with 100 teams in 2023 and 110 teams in 2024.
After two days of competition the final matches were played on the Sunday afternoon.
The results saw the boys’ U-18 team, Waikato Tainui, winning against Pacific Māori on a tight 8 to 7 goals, and the girls’ team, Pacific Māori, 3 to Waikato Tainui 1.
The open men’s finals saw Pacific Maori win 6 – 4 over Waikato Tainui, with the women’s competition won by Pacific Māori 9 – 1 against Tonga.
The mixed team had Waiariki winning 12-10 in a close match against Pacific Maori. The masters mixed team with Pacific Maori 8 -5 over Nga Tai o Raki MM. The 35 men’s finals had Pacific Maori winning 7-5 over Ngā Tai o Te Raki.
The event co-founder, Pat Spellman, said the tournament showcases the vibrancy of the Pacific nations, featuring not only world-class touch rugby but also a bustling marketplace filled with local businesses and food vendors.
“It gives everyone a true taste of home, whether that is Tahiti or Tokoroa.” Spellman added that It feels special to be coming home and provide the opportunity for those who will come.
We are committed to nurturing, identifying and celebrating our culture and strengthening the roots of the Pacific language. Every event is a platform for tamariki,rangathi and whanau to see themselves represented with pride on the fields.”
On a comment at the Pacific Facebook page, Correy Tauwhere, said his favourite part of the weekend was the real fruit ice cream. ‘I flew up from Christchurch and loved every minute surrounded by all the different competing teams.”
The next games will be held on 7 and 8 November 2026 at Manuwera Park.
Mercy Chepkoech, is an International student. She is studying a New-zealand-diploma-in-journalism.
