Cook Islands national rugby league team
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| Team information | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | The kuki's | |||||
| Governing body | Cook Islands Rugby League Association | |||||
| Region | Asia-Pacific | |||||
| Head coach | Tony Iro | |||||
| Captain | Alex Glenn | |||||
| Home stadium | Avarua Tereora Stadium | |||||
| RLIF ranking | 31st | |||||
| Uniforms | ||||||
| ||||||
| Team results | ||||||
First international | ||||||
 Cook Islands 22-8 Niue  (Rarotonga, Cook Islands; 1986) | ||||||
Biggest win | ||||||
Cook Islands 64-8United States  (Featherstone, England; 1995) | ||||||
Biggest defeat | ||||||
 New Zealand 84–10 Cook Islands (Reading, England; 2000) | ||||||
World Cup | ||||||
| Appearances | 2 (first time in 2000) | |||||
| Best result | Group stage, 2000; 2013 | |||||
The Cook Islands national rugby league team has been participating in international rugby league football competition since 1986. The team is controlled by the governing body for rugby league in Cook Islands, Cook Islands Rugby League Association (CIRLA), which is currently a member of the Asia-Pacific Rugby League Confederation (APRLC). They are currently ranked 31st in the RLIF World Rankings.
Contents
1 History
1.1 1990s
1.2 2000s
1.3 2010s
2 Players
2.1 Current squad
3 Tournament history
3.1 Rugby League World Cup
3.2 Other competitions
4 Results and fixtures
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
History
1990s
Before 1995, the Cooks’ international experience was limited to participation in the Pacific Cup, and hosting the touring British Amateur Rugby League Association Great Britain Amateur teams. Nonetheless, the sizeable number of expatriate Cook Islanders living and playing in New Zealand has ensured that they have never been short of players with rugby league experience.
They won the 1995 Emerging Nations tournament, defeating United States, Russia and Scotland before beating Ireland in the final.
In 1996 and 1997 the Cook Islands competed in the Super League World Nines. They also played several full internationals against other South Pacific nations, most notably as part of the Papua New Guinea 50th Anniversary Tournament in October 1998. 2000 saw the Cook Islands competing in the World Cup for the first time. They finished third in their pool after losing to Wales and the Kiwis and only managing a draw against Lebanon.
2000s
The Cook Islands successfully toured New Zealand in 2005 with a three test series against the New Zealand Māori ending in a draw after the first test was drawn 26–26 and the second and third tests were split between both sides.
The Cook Islands played Fiji, Tonga and Samoa in the Pacific pool of Qualifying for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. Fiji and Tonga qualified, and Samoa earned a second chance in the repecharge round. The Cook Islands, having lost to all three teams, were eliminated.
The Cook Islands participated in the 2009 Pacific Cup. Having beaten Samoa to earn a place in the tournament, they went on to defeat favourites Fiji and earn a place in the final of the competition.
2010s
The Cook Islands were given automatic entry into the 2013 Rugby League World Cup they were placed in Pool D alongside Wales and the United States before playing an Inter-Group match against Tonga. Going into the Tournament, 'the Kukis' had never won a World Cup match. The team lost to the USA and to Tonga, but they won their last match against the Tournament co-hosts Wales, making history for the sport of rugby league in the Cook Islands. This is the Cook Islands' best Rugby League World Cup result to date.
In October 2015 the Cook Islands took on Tonga in the Asia-Pacific elimination play-off to determine which of the two Asia-Pacific nations would qualify for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup. After a tight first half, the Tongans would go on win the match scoring 16 points within the last 20 minutes of the game.
Players
- For all past and present players who have appeared for the national team, see Cook Islands national rugby league team players.
Current squad
The Cook Islands Squad for the Test against PNG in May 2017.[1]
Pos. | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
Fullback | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | New Zealand Warriors |
Wing | Geoff Daniela | St. Marys Saints |
Wing | Reuben Rennie | Mounties RLFC |
Centre | Marata Niukore | Parramatta Eels |
Centre | Esan Marsters | Wests Tigers |
Five-eighth | Johnathon Ford | Toulouse Olympique |
Halfback | Isaac John | Mounties RLFC |
Prop | Carne Doyle-Manga | Tweed Heads Seagulls |
Prop | Moses Noovao-McGreal | Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles |
Prop | Ezra Howe | Tweed Heads Seagulls |
Prop | Sam Mataora | Newcastle Knights |
Prop | Uiti Baker | Wests Rosellas |
Hooker | Aaron Teroi | Newcastle Thunder |
Second-row | Alex Glenn (Captain) | Brisbane Broncos |
Second-row | Makahesi Makatoa | Canberra Raiders |
Second-row | Reuben Porter | Sydney Roosters |
Second-row | Kobe Tararo | Gold Coast Titans |
Lock | David Munro | Townsville Blackhawks |
Tournament history
Rugby League World Cup
Rugby League World Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Result | Position | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA |
 1954 | Did not participate | |||||||
 1957 | ||||||||
 1960 | ||||||||
| 1968 | ||||||||
| 1970 | ||||||||
| 1972 | ||||||||
1975 | ||||||||
| 1977 | ||||||||
1985–88 | ||||||||
1989–92 | ||||||||
| 1995 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| 2000 | Group stage | 13th | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 144 |
| 2008 | Did not qualify | |||||||
  2013 | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 64 | 78 |
 2017 | Did not qualify | |||||||
| Total | – | – | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 102 | 222 |
Other competitions
The Cook Islands have also participated in:
Pacific Cup (since 1986)
Super League World Nines (1996, 1997)
Super League Oceania Tournament (1997)- Papua New Guinea 50th Anniversary Tournament (1998)
Pacific Rim Competition (2004)
Results and fixtures
- Below are the previous 5 matches of the national team. For all past match results, see the team's results page.
6 May 2017 15:15 |
Papua New Guinea | 32–22 | Cook Islands |
|---|---|---|
Report |
Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown Attendance: 4,813 |
8 May 2016 15:00 |
Cook Islands | 30–20 |  Lebanon |
|---|---|---|
Report |
Belmore Oval, Belmore Attendance: 2,000 |
17 October 2015 20:00 |
Tonga  | 28–8 | Cook Islands |
|---|---|---|
Report |
Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown Attendance: 4,813 |
10 November 2013 14:00 |
Cook Islands | 28–24 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
Report |
The Gnoll, Neath Attendance: 3,270 |
5 November 2013 20:00 |
Tonga | 22–16 | Cook Islands |
|---|---|---|
Report |
Leigh Sports Village, Leigh Attendance: 10,554 |
See also
- Rugby league in the Cook Islands
References
^ "Cook Islands names side for PNG test". postcourier.com.pg. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
External links
- Google-Video
