Cook Islands national rugby league team
| ||||||
| Nickname | The Cooks | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governing body | Cook Islands Rugby League Association | |||||
| Region | Asia-Pacific | |||||
| Head coach | Alex Chan | |||||
| Captain | Tupou Sopoaga | |||||
| Home stadium | Avarua National Stadium | |||||
| RLIF ranking | 25th | |||||
| ||||||
| First international | ||||||
 Niue 8–22 Cook Islands  (Rarotonga, Cook Islands; 1986) | ||||||
| Biggest win | ||||||
 United States 8–64 Cook Islands (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 25th in the RLIF World Rankings.
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 following players are a list of players selected in the Cook Islands national team preliminary train-on squad for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup qualifier against Tonga in October 2015.[1] *Note the squad's size will increase as the NRL and Super League finals series progresses. (caps and points apply for before the World Cup qualifier began):
| Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Pts. | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FB | Jordan Rapana | 15 August 1989 | 2 | 4 |  Canberra Raiders |
| WG | Drury Low | 2 April 1990 | 3 | 4 | Narellan Jets |
| WG | Anthony Gelling | 18 October 1990 | 5 | 4 |  Wigan Warriors |
| CE | Chance Peni | 17 January 1994 | 0 | 0 | Wests Tigers |
| SO | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | 2 August 1995 | 0 | 0 | Melbourne Storm |
| SH | Aaron Teroi | 2 October 1995 | 0 | 0 | Melbourne Storm |
| PR | Francis Molo | 3 September 1994 | 0 | 0 | Brisbane Broncos |
| PR | Ezra Howe | 10 August 1996 | 0 | 0 | Canberra Raiders |
| PR | Adam Tangata | 17 March 1991 | 4 | 0 | Halifax RLFC |
| PR | Eric Newbigging | 27 February 1994 | 0 | 0 | Parramatta Eels |
| PR | Fred Pakutoa | 17 June 1989 | 0 | 0 | Wentworthville Magpies |
| PR | John Papalii | 0 | 0 | West Belconnen Warriors | |
| HK | Wallace Tangiiti | 16 October 1995 | 0 | 0 | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| SR | Makahesi Makatoa | 0 | 0 | Canterbury Bulldogs | |
| SR | Tupou Sopoaga | 5 June 1992 | 2 | 0 | Penrith Panthers |
| SR | Reuben Porter | 0 | 0 | Sydney Roosters | |
| SR | Esan Marsters | 17 August 1996 | 0 | 0 | Wests Tigers |
| LF | Tinirau Arona | 8 May 1989 | 9 | 4 | Cronulla Sharks |
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 |
| 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.
See also
References
- ↑ "Cook Islands train-on squad named". nrl.com. 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2015-09-25.