World Rugby has unveiled the ranking permutations ahead of the highly anticipated opening round of the 2024 Pacific Nations Cup 2024 set to begin tonight.

The stakes are high for the Fiji Water Flying Fijians where a heavy defeat in tonight’s opening PNC game against the Manu Samoa could see them drop to 12th place but if they manage to avoid defeat, they will remain in their current 10th position.

The pre-match report suggests that even with a victory, Fiji will not be able to surpass the teams above them in the rankings.

Samoa who is currently preparing for their first match against the Flying Fijians has a chance to break into the top 10 of the World Rugby rankings for the first time since July 2023.

To achieve this, Samoa must defeat Fiji by more than 15 points in their opener this evening.

This will mark only the second time Samoa has been inside the top 10 since the conclusion of the Rugby World Cup in 2015 if they become successful.

A narrower victory or even a draw would still see Samoa climb one spot to 12th, pushing Georgia down the rankings.

14th placed Japan also faces a similar scenario.

Even if they secure a victory over hosts Canada by more than 15 points, they will not improve their ranking.

A loss, however, would see them drop below Portugal while a win for Canada would elevate them above Romania into 20th place.

James Doleman from New Zealand will be the man in the middle for the Fiji vs Samoa clash.

Doleman, who has previously served as an assistant referee in a match between the two sides in July 2023, will be officiating Samoa for the first time.

He has experience with Fiji, having refereed their 15-15 draw with Georgia in 2021.

The Flying Fijians will meet Samoa at 6pm tonight at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.

You can catch the LIVE action on FBC Sports.