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WINNERS: FijiRUNNERS-UP: SamoaWHEN: 18 July–3 AugustWHERE: Fiji, Canada and USAFINAL STANDINGS: 1. Fiji 2. Samoa 3. Tonga 4. Japan 5. USA 6. CanadaLEADING POINTS SCORER: Kurt Morath (Tonga), 49TOP TRY SCORERS: Leone Nakarawa (Fiji), Fetu’u Vainikolo (Tonga) and Sonatane Takulua (Tonga) – fourFIRST WIN IN FIVE: Fiji beat Samoa for the first time in five attempts – they drew 30-30 in the pool stages of the tourna­ment – when they met in the PNC final in Burnaby, Canada. In becoming champions for the second time, Fiji achieved their pre-tournament goal of moving back into the top 10 of the World Rugby Rankings. Quick-silver second-row Leone Nakarawa starred in the 39-29 victory with two tries.FAMILY AFFAIR: Samoa number eight Vavae Tuilagi became the sixth of the family’s rugby-playing sons to play international rugby when he lined up alongside elder sibling Alesana in the opening game against USA at the Avaya Sta­dium in San Jose. Samoa maintained their tradition of narrow wins against the Eagles with a 21-16 victory.NORTH AMERICAN PRIDE: Newly-qualified Eagle AJ MacGinty enjoyed a fine first tournament as an international with a 44-point haul – only five short of top scorer Kurt Morath. The Irish-born player’s 80th-minute drop goal saw the USA pip neighbours Canada in the fifth place play-off.THEY SAID: “All credit to Fiji, they wanted the win more than us, the ball bounced their way and they took their chances.” Samoa coach Stephen Betham speaking after his side’s loss to Fiji in the final.WINNERS: RomaniaRUNNERS-UP: Argentina JaguarsWHEN: 12-21 JuneWHERE: Bucharest, RomaniaFINAL STANDINGS: 1. Romania 2. Argentina Jaguars 3. Spain 4. NamibiaLEADING POINTS SCORER: Florin Vlaicu (Romania), 42TOP TRY SCORERS: Viorel Lucaci, Mihai Macovei and Florin Surugiu (all Romania) – twoMILESTONE REACHED: 2015 saw the World Rugby Nations Cup celebrate its 10th anniversary. Argentina A were the inaugural winners when the competition was launched in Lisbon in 2006. The last nine have been held in the Romanian capital of Bucharest with the hosts winning three of the last four titles.GOING WITH THE FLO: While Florin Vlaicu finished the tournament as top points scorer with 42 – three times more than his nearest rival – it was also a memorable nine days for his team-mate Florin Surugiu, who marked his 50th cap with the final try in the 23-0 title-deciding victory over Argentina Jaguars.THE FINAL ACT: The tournament proved to be Danie Vermeulen’s last act as Namibia coach as he resigned upon returning home with an unwanted record of scoring the fewest points (16) in Nations Cup history. Technical advisor Phil Davies stepped in to take the Welwitschias through to their best ever Rugby World Cup record.THEY SAID: “This tournament has offered us a very good opportunity to prepare for the World Cup and, among many positive aspects, we should be pleased with the fact that we’ve played three consecutive games without conceding a try.” Romania captain Mihai Macovei.Full results at: www.worldrugby.org/pncFull results at: www.worldrugby.orgWORLD RUGBY NATIONS CUP 2015WORLD RUGBY PACIFIC NATIONS CUP 201556 WORLD RUGBY YEAR IN REVIEW 2015WORLD IN UNION | TOURNAMENTS REVIEW