Rugby’s Peace Cup has traditionally had it tough – after some unsympathetic handling it is considered among the less attractive in New Zealand sport, it went missing for several seasons – and as a symbol of subunion supremacy has lost some allure in the last couple of decades.
Peace Cup
But the annual planning meeting of the group responsible for the 2025 Peace Cup held recently in Cambridge came with a real boost.
Organisers revealed they had received an offer to play the final at The Rotorua International Stadium as a curtain raiser for The Fiji- Manu Samoa Pacific Cup test match.
This year will be 105th iteration of the time-honoured trophy and holders Hamilton have agreed to forfeit a home final to allow the competition to proceed with planning to schedule games around a Rotorua final on September 6.
Peace Cup chairman Neil Macrae outlined a plan whereby the unions involved would spend four or five weeks of round robin play on a home and away basis throughout August. The top two sides would qualify for the final.
After the call for entries in the 2025 competition, delegates confirmed that Hamilton will be joined by Central Bay of Plenty, Piako and Maniapoto while the Te Awamutu sub union was given an opportunity to confirm entry as well.
Macrae explained that the tournament has remained stable now for several years and perhaps some consideration could now be given to expansion as other representative opportunities for players slowly shrink.
Hamilton delegate Doug Hawkins also suggested some consideration could be given to relaxing some eligibility rules for players to allow smaller unions to field competitive teams.
This was received favourably and duly passed unanimously.
The Peace Cup competition remains a great opportunity for players to continue to play after the various club competitions are completed and the overall standard is truly representative quality.
Rugby huddle. Photo: Julius Holstein, pexels.com
