Pacific sport year in review: The highs and lows of 2025

Opinion - This year's Pacific sporting calendar was full in every sense of the word.

In every code, from rugby to badminton, Pasifika sport fans have been spoilt for choice - throughout 2025 there was something to keep everyone interested.

Off the pitch there have been some big highs and lows for players, coaches and administrators alike, with challenges coming in all different sizes and shapes.

And with 2026 just around the corner there's already the promise of more excitement in store for fans.

The highs

Union

Rugby union saw some growth in the last 12 months, and in Super Rugby Pacific, the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika continue to fly the Pacific flag proudly

This year though praise has to go to the North Harbour-based club, who with the inspirational Ardie Savea leading them, had their best season since their debut in 2022.

Victories against rugby powerhouses the Crusaders, Hurricanes, Auckland Blues and the Waratahs saw Moana Pasifika finally show their fans some of the promise they entered the competition with. Even though they missed out on a top six finish, Moana Pasifika have definitely put everyone on notice.

In Pacific Nations Cup, the Flying Fijians once again stamped their mark as the team to beat, retaining the title for the third consecutive year.

Further to that, the Fijians were also able to put up sterling performances against the Wallabies, England and France, and for the first time have been included in the new World Rugby managed Nations Championships from 2026.

Samoa and Tonga also secured their berths at the 2027 Rugby World Cup along the way and will feature in a new competition from 2026 as well.

The Fijiana and Manusina competed at the Women's Rugby World Cup and despite many disadvantages managed to win the respect of their opponents and rugby fans.

League

Rugby League saw both Samoa and Tonga competing in the Pacific Cup series again against the New Zealand Kiwis, with Samoa this year getting a shot at the main title in the end of the men's competition.

Fetu Samoa competed in the Pacific Cup of the women's comp while the Fijian Bulikula secured a spot at the 2026 Rugby League World Cup when they won their qualifier series.

It will be interesting to see how 2026 will turn out with all the Pasifika men's teams - Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Tonga - competing at the world meet.

Football

In football or soccer, the first-ever Oceania Football Pro-League was launched a month ago, with eight teams confirmed.

The tournament proper gets underway on 17 January.

Vanuatu claimed the men's title at the Melanesian Cup tournament in PNG, while the PNG women claimed the first women's title at the event.

New Zealand qualified as the Oceania men's rep to the FIFA World Cup, while New Caledonia have a chance to do the same if they get through qualification rounds in the new year.

Mini Games

The Pacific Mini Games results saw Tahiti dominate the medal tally in Palau, scooping a total of 142 medals. This haul includes a remarkable 72 gold, 41 silver, and 29 bronze.

But underdogs Fiji and Samoa will be the most pleased after displacing regional powerhouses New Caledonia and Papua New Guinea for second and third spots.

Fiji secured 81 medals, while Samoa finished netted 61.

Netball

In Netball young teams from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga competed with the best in the world at the Youth Netball World Cup in Gibraltar.

While New Zealand defeated Australia in the final, Cook Islands was the only Pacific Island team that secured a top eight spot.

Meanwhile, across all international competitions the Tongan Tala finished in the top six of the world netball rankings, securing themselves a spot at the 2026 Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow, Scotland in July.

There were also some moments of Pacific brilliance shown in other international sporting codes including in weight-lifting, boxing and in beach volleyball.

The lows

League

Tongan enforcer 'Eliesa Katoa spent weeks in hospital after concussions suffered before and during the Tonga vs Kiwis Pacific Cup men's clash in Auckland in early November.

This prompted an investigation by the National Rugby League, which has resulted in possible bans on a number of Team Tonga medical staff.

Katoa ultimately underwent life-saving brain surgery and is out of action for both the Melbourne Storm and international duties 2026, with a long road to recovery ahead of him.

Union

Rugby

PNG Rugby is still under suspension by Oceania Rugby, which has seen them miss regional and international rugby competition in the last 24 months.

If there was a rugby version of an 'own goal' available, we would use it here, because PNG Rugby's leadership shortfalls have failed the code's local players from grassroots to the top level.

There has been no word from Oceania Rugby on when the suspension is expected to be lifted.

Domestically in PNG a number of players have since moved to rugby league.

Boxing

The probe into the death of a Fijian boxer in 2024 has not met the expectations of stakeholders, who continue to call for more to be done to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

One of the biggest challenges was the refusal of Australia-based boxing promoter Freddy Chand to be interviewed by the inquiry team set up by the Fijian Ministry of Sports.

Also, Fijian female boxer Jasmine Daunakamakama missed competing at the World Boxing Championships in September because results of a new genetic sex test were delayed.

She could not get the test done in Fiji and was part of 13 female boxers who missed the event.

Her sample couldn't be processed in time because Fiji lacked facilities for the specific test, highlighting resource disparities in Pacific sports.

Sevens

The New World Rugby sevens system has seen Pacific teams Samoa and Tonga lose their spots in the annual HSBC Sevens series, with the new format reducing teams from 12 to eight, in both the men's and women's competition.

Fiji is the only Pacific island nation represented in both competitions.

Rugby World Cup

While both Fiji and Samoa were excited to be part of the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup, both camps decried the build-up campaign saying the island teams did not have enough top-level competition prior to the world meet.

Calls were made to World Rugby by Manusina head coach Ramsey Tomokino and Fijiana mentor Ioan Cunningham for their teams to be given a fair chance in future by being provided with

Test opportunities against Tier 1 teams.

Looking ahead to the New Year

A big 2026 is in store for rugby union, rugby league and football.

The Fiji men's sevens team head into the third tournament of the current HSBC Sevens Series sitting in top spot, tied at 32 points each with South Africa and New Zealand. Meanwhile, the Fijiana women's team are in sixth place.

With the new Nations Championship confirmed, the Flying Fijians are to meet Wales, England and Scotland in July, before taking on France, Ireland and Italy in November.

Samoa and Tonga have matches confirmed against Georgia, Uruguay, Canada and USA in the Nations Cup series.

Rugby League will see the best in the world assemble in Australia and PNG during the world cup. That will be in both the men and women's competition.

While that is 12 months away, excitement is already building as there is real belief now that the Pacific teams could be genuine challengers for the world title.

In July there are the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, with quite a number of Pasifika athletes and sports teams eyeing representation.

History is also being made in football with the new OFC Pro League set to kick off at the famous Eden Park in Auckland on 17 January.

Oceania Football said the competition is a game changer for the Pacific which they hope will help raise footballing standards to the levels already enjoyed by other confederacies around the globe.