The third Oceania Pacific Cup hockey tournament begins in Suva today with five men's teams hoping to break New Zealand's stronghold on the trophy.
The Barbarians side have won the first two installments of the event while New Zealand Maori are the defending women's champion.
Vinnie Wylie reports.
"Fiji mens captain Shaun Corrie says the home side is ready to compete for the gold medal after steady improvement over the past two years. Fiji finished runners-up in 2009 and the New Zealand Barbarians skipper, Jeremy Child, says they're the team that has developed the most in the past two seasons. The Barbarians team features a number of international representatives including 19 year old rising star Hugo Inglis."
In the women's division the Australia Country side will be looking to avenge last year's grand final defeat. Teams from Papua New Guinea and Samoa are also competing with the finals to be played next weekend.
