Young Pasifika league players in action in Auckland

The Pasifika Youth Cup under-17 boys and girls rugby league teams are in action in Auckland this weekend.

Seven nations are represented at Blockhouse Bay Reserve, with the event kicking off on Friday and running until Sunday.

There is a premier and a championship level, and nations represented include New Zealand Māori, Samoa, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, and Tokelau.

John "JD" Devonshire from New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) said 85 per cent of the kids are from Auckland, but some come from overseas.

"The Cook Islands sends players over. We get a lot of players from Australia. There are two or three out of Niue," he said.

"The opportunity doesn't always present to represent your nation and wear your colors and represent your whanau, and that's what PAC - the Pasifika Aotearoa Collective - is all about."

PAC was launched in 2021 with the goal of uniting and empowering Māori and Pasifika communities through rugby league, with a strong emphasis on culture, equality, and respect.

It's supported by NZRL and is a collaboration between Tokelau, Fiji, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Niue, and New Zealand Māori Rugby League.

Devonshire said NRL scouts tend to be sniffing around players of this age group, and some of the teens are aiming high while others "are just happy to be here".

"You're in the shop window, and you can take an opportunity, and the scouts and the NRL clubs are generally here around this age group, and others...they're just happy to be here.

"You have 25 players in the squad, and not everyone's going to pick up an NRL contract, but they're all playing for the same kaupapa, or the same reason, in terms of representing their nation."

He said spectators should get there early, as the cultural exchanges, like haka, take place at the start of matches.

And there'll be plenty of food.

"When you've got Pacific and Māori, you have a laugh, and you have a big smile, and you sing a song and do a prayer, and then you have a kai."