Kiwis v Toa Samoa - Round 1, 2025 at Go Media Stadium, Auckland.
Watch Pacific Championships 2025 Live - Click Here
Watch Pacific Championships 2025 Live - Click Here
6.05pm Sunday, 19 October
Go Media Stadium, Auckland
Featuring powerhouse nations including Australia (Jillaroos), New Zealand, Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga and the Cook Islands, the tournament will see 14 test matches played between October 18 and November 9.
The 2025 Pacific Championships are set to reignite some of the game’s fiercest international rivalries as Samoa return to the men's Cup draw to tackle the Kiwis and Tonga.
What: Pacific Championship double header. Where: Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland. When: Kiwi Ferns v Fetu Samoa, 3.35pm; Kiwis v Toa Samoa, 6.05pm, both live on Sky Sport 1.
New Zealand Rugby League officials are concerned that Sunday scheduling could see fans face a tug of love between church and footy for the upcoming Pacific Championship tests.
The Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns will meet Tonga at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday and the Kiwis will host Tonga at Eden Park on Sunday November 2 when the Ferns play Australia’s Jillaroos.
The Kiwis have previously hosted games against Tonga and Samoa on Saturdays since 2019, drawing near-capacity crowds to Mt Smart Stadium.
NZRL chief executive Greg Peters said they would have preferred Saturday fixtures this season and acknowledged that the Pasifika communities’ devotion to church could impact Sunday gates.
“It’s massive. The two things that govern many of our Pasifika communities are their mothers and the church.
“If either, or both, are telling them to do one thing that’s normally what happens, in a very positive way. But obviously it does have some impact in this particular context.