Wikipedia

Cook Islands national rugby league team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Cook Islands women's national rugby league team.

The Cook Islands national rugby league team have represented the Cook Islands in international rugby league football since 1986. Administered by the Cook Islands Rugby League Association (CIRLA), the team has competed at three Rugby League World Cups, in 2000, 2013 and 2021, and are coached by Karmichael Hunt.

Cook Islands
Badge of Cook Islands team
Team information
NicknameAitu, Kuki's
Governing bodyCook Islands Rugby League Association
RegionAsia-Pacific
Head coachKarmichael Hunt
CaptainEsan Marsters
IRL ranking10th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First international
 Cook Islands 22-8 Niue 
(Rarotonga, Cook Islands; 1986)
Biggest win
 Cook Islands 66-6 South Africa 
(Sydney, Australia; 2019)
Biggest defeat
 Tonga 92-10 Cook Islands 
(Middlesbrough, England; 31 October 2022)
World Cup
Appearances3 (first time in 2000)
Best resultGroup stage, 2000; 2013; 2021.

History

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1990s

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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[1] and the Kiwis and only managing a draw against Lebanon.

2000s

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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,[2] 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.[3]

2010s

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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.

In June 2019, Cook Islands took on South Africa at Ringrose Park in Wentworthville, winning 66–6. They then went on to play the United States at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville in November. They won 38–16, qualifying them into the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. At the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, the Cook Islands narrowly beat part timers Wales 18-12 before losing their second group stage match against Papua New Guinea. In their final group stage match, the Cook Islands suffered their worst ever defeat as they were beaten 92-10 by Tonga at the Riverside Stadium.[4]

Players

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For a list of players who have appeared for the national team, see Category:Cook Islands national rugby league team players.

Current squad

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The Cook Islands squad for the 2024 Pacific Championships. The squad was announced on 9 October 2024.[5][6]
Statistics in this table are compiled from the website, Rugby League Project.

J# Player Age Position(s) Cook Islands Club NRL SL Other Reps
Dbt M T G F P CM TM CM TM
7 Esan Marsters 28 Fullback, Halfback 2015 10 2 0 0 8     Huddersfield Giants 0 86 39 39   6   4
2 Steven Marsters 25 Wing 2019 10 5 29 0 78     Thirroul Butchers 0 6 0 0
3 Reubenn Rennie 29 Centre 2016 9 3 0 0 12     Toulouse Olympique 0 0 0 0
4 Delahia Wigmore — Centre, Lock 2024 2 0 0 0 0     Canberra Raiders 0 0 0 0
1 Esom Ioka 21 Wing, Fullback 2023 4 3 1 0 14     Western Clydesdales 0 0 0 0
6 Brad Takairangi 35 Five-eighth, Centre 2009 14 1 3 0 10     South West Goannas 0 178 0 24   4   2
15 Mason Teague 21 Halfback, Lock 2024 2 0 0 0 0     Dolphins (NRL) 8 8 0 0
8 Tepai Moeroa 29 Prop 2019 6 0 0 0 0     Melbourne Storm 22 134 0 0   1   1
9 Rua Ngatikaura 24 Hooker 2022 6 1 0 0 4     North Sydney Bears 0 0 0 0
10 Davvy Moale 21 Prop 2022 8 3 0 0 12     South Sydney Rabbitohs 54 54 0 0
21 Alex Glenn 36 Second-row 2017 3 1 0 0 4 0 285 0 0
12 Reuben Porter 27 Second-row 2017 8 0 0 0 0     Wests Tigers 8 8 0 0
13 Pride Petterson-Robati 29 Lock, Prop 2019 7 0 0 0 0     Souths Logan Magpies 0 0 0 0
11 Zane Tetevano 33 Second-row, Prop 2009 12 0 0 0 0     Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 0 121 0 46   3   1
16 Rhys Dakin — Prop 2023 3 0 0 0 0     Newtown Jets 0 0 0 0
18 Junior Teroi — Hooker, Second-row 2024 2 0 0 0 0     Bulimba Valley Bulldogs 0 0 0 0
20 Makahesi Makatoa 31 Prop 2015 9 1 0 0 4     Parramatta Eels 56 56 0 0
5 Rixson Andrew — Wing, Fullback 2024 1 0 0 0 0     Souths Logan Magpies 0 0 0 0
17 Justin Makirere — Prop 2023 3 0 0 0 0     Ipswich Jets 0 0 0 0
14 Kobe Tararo 25 Second-row 2017 2 0 0 0 0     Souths Logan Magpies 0 0 0 0
19 Malachi Morgan — Wing 2023 2 0 0 0 0     Helensvale Hornets 0 0 0 0
– Xavier Willison 22 Prop 2022 1 0 0 0 0     Brisbane Broncos 30 30 0 0   1

Notes

Competitive record

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Main article: List of Cook Islands national rugby league team results

Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by a Cook Islands national XIII at test level up until 6 November 2023.[7]

Opponent Matches Won Drawn Lost Win % For Aga Diff
  American Samoa 1 1 0 0 100% 22 20 +2
  Fiji 13 5 1 7 38.46% 219 349 –130
  Ireland 1 1 0 0 100% 22 6 +16
  Lebanon 3 2 1 0 66.67% 80 66 +14
  New Zealand 2 0 0 2 0% 10 134 –124
  New Zealand Maori 12 4 1 7 33.33% 216 312 –96
  New Zealand 2 0 0 2 0% 10 134 –124
  New Zealand Residents 2 0 0 2 0% 6 62 –56
  Niue 3 2 0 1 66.67% 67 74 –7
  Papua New Guinea 7 0 0 7 0% 94 270 –176
  Rotuma 1 0 0 1 0% 10 17 –17
  Russia 1 1 0 0 100% 58 20 +38
  Samoa 9 2 0 7 22.22% 128 386 –258
  Scotland 1 1 0 0 100% 21 10 +11
  South Africa 1 1 0 0 100% 66 6 +60
  Tokelau 1 1 0 0 100% 19 10 +9
  Tonga 12 1 0 11 8.33% 151 425 –274
  United States 3 2 0 1 66.67% 122 56 +66
  Wales 3 2 0 1 66.67% 52 74 –22
Total 78 26 3 49 33.33% 1373 2431 –1058

Rugby League World Cup

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Further information: Cook Islands at the 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
  2021 Group stage 11th 3 1 0 2 44 136
Total – – 9 2 1 6 146 358

Other competitions

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The Cook Islands have also participated in:

IRL Rankings

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IRL Men's World Rankings
Official rankings as of 30 June 2024
Rank Change Team Pts %
1     Australia 100
2     New Zealand 82
3     England 80
4     Samoa 67
5     Tonga 49
6   1   Fiji 47
7   1   Papua New Guinea 46
8     France 28
9     Lebanon 22
10     Cook Islands 20
11     Serbia 19
12     Netherlands 17
13     Italy 15
14   1   Greece 15
15   1   Malta 14
16     Ireland 14
17     Wales 13
18     Jamaica 10
19     Scotland 9
20     Ukraine 7
21     Czech Republic 7
22     Germany 6
23   3   Chile 6
24     Poland 6
25   3   Norway 6
26   1   Kenya 5
27   4   Philippines 5
28   3   South Africa 4
29     Nigeria 4
30     Ghana 4
31   2   United States 4
32   4   Montenegro 4
33   2   Brazil 3
34   2   Turkey 3
35   7   North Macedonia 3
36   2   Bulgaria 3
37   2   Cameroon 2
38   1   Spain 2
39   1   Japan 1
40   1   Albania 1
41   5   Canada 1
42   2   Colombia 1
43   2   El Salvador 1
44   1   Morocco 1
45     Russia 0
46   2   Sweden 0
47   2   Bosnia and Herzegovina 0
48   2   Hungary 0
49   3   Argentina 0
50     Hong Kong 0
51   3   Solomon Islands 0
52   5   Niue 0
53   1   Latvia 0
54   1   Denmark 0
55   6   Belgium 0
56   1   Estonia 0
57   6   Vanuatu 0
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Wales vs. Cook Islands". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Fiji thrash the Cook Islands in league world cup qualifier". RNZ. 9 October 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Cook Islands book place in Pacific Cup with impressive win". RNZ. 18 October 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Tonga 92-10 Cook Islands: Tonga close Rugby League World Cup group in style". BBC Sport.
  5. ^ "Cook Islands Squad List". facebook. NRL. 9 October 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
  6. ^ "2024 Pacific Championships: Full squad lists". NRL. 16 October 2024. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Head to Head". Rugby League Planet. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
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