USA Rugby Announcement, Boulder, Colo. – USA Rugby announced Thursday the dates and locations for the two World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup double-header match days to be held in the United States in 2015.

Avaya Stadium in San Jose, Calif., and Bonney Field in Sacramento will host four matches of the Pacific Nations Cup – a World Rugby tournament designed to expose Pacific Rim teams and players to a greater number of international test matches – featuring Canada, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, and USA July 18 and July 24, 2015.

The 18,000-seat Avaya Stadium will host two PNC matches on Saturday, July 18: Canada v Japan and the USA v Samoa. Built for the San Jose Earthquakes, the venue will officially open its doors for the first time Sunday, March 22, for its Major League Soccer regular season debut.

While there is a long history of international rugby in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, the match day in San Jose represents the first international tests in the Silicon Valley since USA hosted Ireland at Buck Shaw Stadium in 2009. The match pitting the U.S. against Samoa is also a preview of the Pool B fixture of Rugby World Cup 2015 slated for Sep. 20 in Brighton, U.K.

“USA Rugby is excited to return to San Jose and play at the brand new Avaya Stadium,” said USA Rugby Chief Executive Officer Nigel Melville. “The area has a great rugby fan base and I know that supporters will look forward to coming out to see Canada, Japan, Samoa, and the USA all playing on the same pitch.”

“The Bay Area is recognized as one of the hubs for rugby in the United States and we designed Avaya Stadium with rugby in mind,” said Earthquakes President Dave Kaval. “We are thrilled to bring USA Rugby back to the area and look forward to welcoming the rugby community to Avaya Stadium for the first time."

“San Jose is very proud to welcome international rugby back to the capital of Silicon Valley,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. “We can’t wait to welcome USA Rugby and the Pacific Nations Cup to the new Avaya Stadium for what we hope will be the first of many high-profile and prestigious rugby matches to be played in San Jose.”

The Eagles will return to Bonney Field Friday, July 24, following 2014’s sold-out, USA-versus-Canada Pacific Nations Cup match. The 2015 contests feature a clash between Fiji and Samoa before another preview of a Rugby World Cup matchup in U.S. versus Japan.

The doubleheader on the Cal Expo grounds in Sacramento will coincide with the California State Fair, with fans invited to join the activities of both events.

“We are pleased to return to Sacramento,” said USA Rugby Director of International Events Kellie Cavalier. “Last summer’s PNC match was a thrilling affair and the passion of the spectators made the event one to remember. We look forward to two incredible match-ups at Bonney Field again in 2015.”

“This region is home to a large contingent of enthusiastic rugby players, fans, and supporters and we are excited to have USA Rugby return to Sacramento this summer," said President and Chief Executive Officer of the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau & Sports Commission Steve Hammond. "It is a proud accomplishment to have matches of this caliber take place in Sacramento, and even better, these highly-followed international match-ups hold broad spectator appeal and offer us the opportunity to showcase our beautiful city.”

The PNC has been held annually since 2006, though the U.S. was introduced to the competition in 2013. Following round robin play – with matches also scheduled to be held at ANZ Stadium in Suva, Fiji, Swangard Stadium in Toronto, and BMO Field in Vancouver – teams will be seeded based on record for finals day in Vancouver August 3.

Tickets for the matches held at Avaya Stadium will be released mid-March, with tickets for the Bonney Field doubleheader to follow shortly after. Notifications on ticket release dates and pre-sale access to tickets for the U.S.-based 2015 PNC matches will be provided to those on the USA Rugby Ticket Pre-Sale List, for which fans can sign up here: www.usarugby.org/tickets.