In a Rugby World Cup year, teams step up preparations and players on the periphery use every opportunity to impress coaches.

One such opportunity arises on Tuesday when the World Rugby Pacific Challenge 2015 - formerly known as the Pacific Rugby Cup - kicks off in the Fijian capital of Suva with Tonga A, Fiji Warriors, Samoa A, Canada A, Argentina Pampas XV and Junior Japan battling it out to become champions.

As well as the prize on show, the competition allows players on the fringes of senior squads in these six unions to put up their hand for selection in a Rugby World Cup year, as all countries will be taking part in England 2015.

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Canada A make their debut in the new-look tournament and captain Hubert Buydens is itching to get out on the field despite the high temperatures in Fiji.

“This tournament is a great opportunity to play some high quality rugby, where some of our domestic guys don’t get a high quality game every week and hopefully we go well,” he said. 

“The temperature is the same for everybody. We’re definitely trying to play a free-flowing game that will be structured off the first couple of phases and then after that see what happens.”

All the action from the Pacific Challenge will be streamed live online, with Junior Japan taking on Canada A in the first game of the day at 13:00 local time (GMT +12) on Tuesday, followed by the battle between rivals Samoa A and Tonga A at 15:00 before defending champions Argentina Pampas XV face their hosts Fiji at 17:00 

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Fiji Warriors captain Nemani Nagusa is eager to see his side get off to a winning start as they attempt to regain a title they had won five years in a row before the Argentina Pampas took the competition by storm in their debut last year.

“It’s great to have Argentina Pampas, Canada, Samoa, Tonga and Japan here, and I’m looking forward to getting things underway,”Nagusa insisted.

“Most of our guys are used to playing (in this competition). Last year we missed out in the final against the Pampas and this year it’s important to start well and get on with our campaign.”

The six teams have split into two pools with Argentina Pampas XV, Samoa A and Junior Japan in Pool A and the Fiji Warriors, Tonga A and Canada A in Pool B. Teams will play those in the opposite pool across three matchs day - 10, 14 and 18 March - with the finals day taking place on 23 March.

The main objective of the World Rugby Pacific Challenge is to bridge the gap between domestic and international rugby for the best locally based players from the participating unions.

Between 2009 and 2012 World Rugby invested around £16 million in Pacific Islands rugby. It is forecast that a further £19 million will be invested between 2013 and 2016 through development, regional tournaments and high-performance programmes. This funding is aimed at raising performances and providing the necessary infrastructure and support to continue to compete at the highest level.