USA RUGBY – World Rugby today confirmed the Pacific Four Series (PAC4) will return in 2024 between April 27 and May 25 across three host nations. [Lead photo: Freda Tafuna @ 2023 WXV2 (Johan Rynners – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)]
With matches taking place in Australia, New Zealand and USA, the USA Women’s Eagles will excitingly return home for the opening match against Canada, the first test match on U.S. soil since the Pacific Four Series in 2021. Host cities and locations are still in discussion, with tickets and confirmations soon to come.
The first of two World Rugby hosted competitions planned for the Women’s 15s this year, the Pacific Four Series will be the recently appointed Sione Fukofuka’s first fixtures as USA Head Coach. With a consistent coaching group and planned lead-up in place for the program, the Women’s Eagles will target a top-three finish, securing a spot in WXV1 and importantly qualification to Rugby World Cup 2025.
Fukofuka said on the upcoming series, “We are looking forward to the opportunity to play against three very good rugby nations again. New Zealand, Canada and Australia are all highly ranked, and we see this competition as a great opportunity to test ourselves against good teams vying for qualification to WXV1. The chance to play Canada on home soil, in front of family, friends and USA fans is definitely a highlight of the international calendar, and one the players are excited about.”
Leading up to the Spring, Fukofuka noted on team activities, “In preparation for the PAC4 we will have three performance camps, a planned warm up match and an extended lead into the Canada test planned. In addition to this we will connect with the players remotely to allow the new coaching staff to introduce our game model, attack and defense systems along with team processes, so we are prepared and aligned as a team when we connect in our performance camps prior to the competition.”
Carly Waters during the 2023 WXV2 (Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
World Rugby Head of Women’s Competitions Alison Hughes said: “It’s great to see the Pacific Four Series return for a fourth year. This highly anticipated tournament provides a quality high-performance competition for the four teams competing and with WXV and Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 qualification up for grabs, it’s really all to play for.”
Host city and venue details to be confirmed shortly and updated on the World Rugby and USA Rugby websites.
The stakes are high with the standings at the end of the tournament determining the next team to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2025, which is taking place in England. With Canada and New Zealand already qualified as RWC2021 semifinalists, Australia and the USA will be giving all they’ve got to ensure they are the next best ranked team to secure their spot.
With the Pacific Four Series also providing a qualification route to WXV 2024, the top three teams will join the top three teams from the Guinness Women’s Six Nations 2024 in WXV1, while the nation that finishes bottom of the standings will play in WXV2 alongside three teams from Europe and regional qualification winners from Africa and Asia.