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LONDON - The 2008 Pacific Cup involving regional teams from Fiji, Samoa and Tonga will take place from April 18 to May 24, the International Rugby Board said today.
The tournament, involving six teams, has helped the island nations groom players for the test arena in the Pacific Nations Cup and the World Cup, the IRB said in a statement.
"The 2007 IRB Pacific Rugby Cup really helped blood our local players who had little or no previous exposure at test level," Fiji's World Cup coach Ilivasi Tabua was quoted as saying in the statement.
"Many of these players took a step up and made the Fiji test side in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup, and some went all the way and did their country proud at the Rugby World Cup," he added.
Tabua's team upset Wales in their deciding group game to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament in France in October.
- REUTERS
