PINA

Taniela Tupou has cheekily challenged Rugby Australia to “show me the money” as the rampaging Queensland Reds prop switches gears and begins to ponder his future. The ultra-talented Wallabies prop admits he's yet to flick into 100 percent rugby mode less than a fortnight out from the Super Rugby Pacific season. But he has reason to be distracted, the Tongan product...

Kiribati has announced its first Covid-19 death and 207 new cases in the community. There are now almost 2,000 positive infections, with more than 50 percent of those recorded in the last five days. The Ministry of Health said the victim was an 80-year-old woman who had been hospitalised at an isolation centre. The ministry said the woman had only received the...

Rugby Australia has confirmed the Fijiana Drua will join Super W in 2022. The move mirrors the decision to include the Drua and Moana Pasifika into Super Rugby as the competition expands into the Pacific. They will be based in Australia for the entirety of the competition, with their squad set to be confirmed later today. “I’d like to thank Foreign Minister...

Super Rugby Pacific have confirmed the 'Tries for Tonga initiative', which will see $500 per try donated for the Red Cross Pacific Tsunami Appeal. The initiative will run across the first ten rounds of the competition, culminating with the historic Super Round at AAMI Park in Melbourne. Rugby Australia (RA) and New Zealand Rugby (NZR) have teamed up with their respective...

Fijian Drua coach Mick Byrne has named his starting 15 for the Super Rugby Pacific preseason match against the Melbourne Rebels tomorrow. The side will be led by Nemani Nagusa at number eight. Olypmic Games gold medallist Meli Derenalagi starts at blindside flanker. The Swire Shipping-sponsored Drua take on the Rebels at Harlequin Rugby Club in Ashwood, Melbourne at 6pm (local...

Papua New Guinea Electoral Commissioner Simon Sinai has announced that polling will commence on Saturday 18 June 2022 and not the initial date of 25 June. Sinai said due to COVID-19 protocols and police mobilisation time requirement, the start of polling date has been moved forward. This will affect the campaign period back to seven weeks. He said the rest of...

U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed late Monday for Australia where the State Department said he will attend Quad ministerial meetings to advance cooperation on maritime security and cybersecurity, while also pushing back against “aggression and coercion” in the Indo-Pacific region. The Quad refers to a security dialogue involving Australia, India, Japan and the United States. Blinken’s visit to Australia...

Effective immediately Samoas’ borders to travelers from countries such as Australia, Fiji, the United States, the United Kingdom is closed until further notice. The Updated Travel Advisory to this effect was issued by the Ministry of Health. In addition, the Advisory re-emphasised that “Entry is denied to All passengers from or transit through South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia,...

Tonga’s Princess Frederica Lupe'uluiva Tuita Filipe has reflected on the emotional moment she thought she was about to die after the island nation was devastated by a volcanic eruption and tsunami in January. The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption and its ensuing tsunami killed five people and injured 18 others after it struck on the afternoon of January 15, destroying homes,...

The French overseas minister Sebastien Lecornu is travelling to New York for talks with the United Nations decolonisation after New Caledonia's rejection of independence. In December, more than 96 percent of voters rejected independence in the third and final referendum within the Noumea Accord, which was marked by a majority of voters abstaining. The vote in December was boycotted by the...