New Caledonia New Caledonia New Caledonia (; ) is a special collectivity of France in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Chesterfield Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of Pines, and a few remote islets. The Chesterfield Islands are in the Coral Sea. Locals refer to Grande Terre as "" ("the pebble"). New Caledonia has a land area of . Its population of 268,767 (August 2014 census) consists of a mix of Kanak people (the original inhabitants of New
New Caledonia national rugby union team Cup. In 2008, their win over fellow Pacific rivals Vanuatu in Nouméa, 32–20, paved their way to the final of the competition, but New Caledonia lost the match to Niue, 5–27. New Caledonia national rugby union team The New Caledonia national rugby union team represents New Caledonia in rugby union. The team has been playing international rugby since the 1960s. All their matches have been against other teams from Oceania. New Caledonia has competed at the South Pacific Games, winning a silver medal in 1966. The team won the gold medal in 1987, defeating Cook Islands in the final in