5 May 2015

Sport: Officials give Pacific league tests the thumbs up

12:37 pm on 5 May 2015

Rugby league's governing body has given the expanded Pacific Test weekend the thumbs up.

Rugby league's governing body has given the expanded Pacific Test weekend the thumbs up.

Samoa and Fiji beat Tonga and Papua New Guinea in a Pacific Island double header on the Gold Coast, expanding on the one-off clashes of the previous two years.

Niue also thrashed South Africa as part of the standalone weekend of representative matches.

Tas Baitieri from the Rugby League International Federation says the past weekend shows there is strong interest in the international game.

"I think we're building. We've had two years where we've played in the Sydney Western Suburbs out at Penrith. I think those two years demonstrated that there was an appetite for such an event and the extension of adding two Pacific test matches just demonstrates the desire to take another risk. It's received a great endorsement by the public, by the television people and I think it's something that will get bedded in into the future".

Samoa and Tonga rugby league teams after their Pacific Test.

Samoa and Tonga rugby league teams after their Pacific Test. Photo: Facebook

Tas Baitieri says there is already talk of a Pacific Cup final later this year, while the Cook Islands could also be brought into the mix.

"Fiji winning their game against Papua New Guinea have put their hand up to try and see if they can host this. This would be post the NRL Grand Final week so the intentions are to possibly play a Pacific Cup final in Fiji, with the two winners playing off and the two losers playing off, and there is some talk that maybe the loser of the playoff for third and fourth position would drop out and the Cook Islands would come in for next year's series".

Tas Baitieri says those thoughts are still very much at the initial stages with a full debrief of the international weekend to be had.