24 Mar 2016

Sport: Georgia to play three rugby tests in the Pacific

9:26 am on 24 March 2016

The Georgian rugby team will play Fiji, Tonga and Samoa in June in an historic test series in the Pacific Islands.

The mid-year test window marks the beginning of Rugby World Cup qualifying for the three Pacific nations, who failed to earn direct entry to the 2019 tournament last year.

With only a three-week June window, Georgia and the three Pacific teams will play each other over consecutive weeks.

The top two teams from the new-look Pacific Nations Cup over the next two years will qualify for Japan, not including the European Nations Cup champions.

The 'Ikale Tahi were stunned by Georgia in their 2015 Rugby World Cup opener.

The 'Ikale Tahi were stunned by Georgia in their 2015 Rugby World Cup opener. Photo: AFP

Georgia finished third in Pool C at last year's World Cup, beating Tonga in pool play and are ranked 12th in the world, between Fiji and Tonga and three places clear of Samoa.

World Rugby has released a busy schedule for tier two teams in June, with Scotland also travelling to Japan and Italy to play Canada and the USA.