Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance
The Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) ( German about Rugby Alliance of the Pacific Islands ) is a cooperation between the rugby associations of Fijis , Samoas and Tongas that has existed since 2002 .
Niue and the Cook Islands are also members of the alliance, although they were not participants in the Pacific Tri-Nations tournament. However, both associations are entitled to assign players to the Pacific Islanders , which they also make use of.
In 2009 Samoa withdrew from the cooperation. The Samoan Association did this after the International Rugby Board only allowed the Pacific Islanders to tour every four years and the joint games did not bring the hoped-for financial success.
Individual evidence
- ^ Samoa quits Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance. (No longer available online.) Planet Rugby, July 17, 2009, archived from the original on July 21, 2009 ; accessed on July 22, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
