The Cook Islands is a third tier rugby union playing nation. They began playing international rugby in early 1971. Thus far, the Cook Islands have not made an appearance at any of the World Cups.

History In 1924 a scratch team of Rarotongan boys, including the late Sir Albert Henry, played the All Black Invincibles on their way to the United Kingdom. The game was drawn 0–0.

The Cook Islands played their first official international on September 1, 1971 against Western Samoa, losing 24 points to 18. The Cook Islands went on to win against Wallis and Futuna the next day and then lose again to Samoa the day after.

The next time the Cook Islands played was nine years later in 1980, in a close game against a touring Italian side; the Cook Islands won by 15 – 6. Three years later they again played Samoa, again losing. The next match for the Islanders wasn't until 1996, when they played Papua New Guinea. Since then, they play regularly against them and fellow Pacific sides Niue and Tahiti.

While Niue and the Cook Islands are not members of the Pacific Tri-Nations competition, they can supply players for the Pacific Islanders'. The first and still sole player from Cook Islands to have represented the Pacific Islanders was Tu Tamarua, in 2004.

The best Cook Islands rugby players often play in New Zealand where there is a large Cook Island population.

The Cook Islands entered the play-off round 4 against Tonga for a berth at the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but suffered heavy losses by 77–10 at home and 90–0 away, in 2006, being eliminated.

The Cook Islands entered recently Oceania Cup, but were surprisingly eliminated by Niue who beat them 18–7 at Rarotonga.

The 2013 Oceania Cup hosted by Papua New Guinea saw the Cook Islands record wins over Tahiti, Solomon Islands and the final hosts Papua New Guinea. Cook Islands played and lost to Fiji in 2014 for the last spot (Oceania 1) at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

Overall Records Below is table of the representative rugby matches played by an Cook Island's national XV at test level up until 25 July 2021. Team Mat Won Lost Draw Win% Last played For Aga Diff 2 0 2 0 % 2014 3 161 –148 2 0 2 0 % 2018 3 77 –74 1 1 0 0 % 1980 15 6 +9 2 2 0 0 % 2003 82 13 +69 1 0 1 0 % 1992 17 29 –12 7 5 2 0 % 2009 193 75 +118 7 4 3 0 % 2013 163 153 +10 3 0 3 0 % 31 102 –71 1 1 0 0 % 2013 39 12 +27 9 7 2 0 % 2017 419 128 +291 4 0 4 0 % 2021 32 289 –257 1 1 0 0 % 1971 29 18 +11Total 40 21 19 0 % – 1036 1063 -27

Rugby World Cup record Rugby World Cup record Year Qualification status 1987Not Invited 1991Did Not Enter 1995Did Not Enter 1999Did Not Qualify 2003Did Not Qualify 2007Did Not Qualify 2011Did Not Qualify 2015Did Not Qualify 2019Did Not Qualify 2023Did Not Qualify 2027Did Not Enter 2031To be determined

Current squad Cook Islands squad for the 2023 Rugby World Cup Oceania qualifiers. Head Coach: Nathan Robinson

Notable players Tommy Hayes Albert Henry Koiatu Koiatu Paul Koteka Dave Rennie Tu Tamarua Stan Wright Mike Beckham Daniel Devereaux Roger Franklin Sharpe

See also Rugby union in the Cook Islands Cook Islands national rugby sevens team

References

External links

Cook Islands at the IRB Official Site Cook Islands Rugby Union on Facebook