Cook Islands national rugby union team
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| Association | Cook Islands Rugby Union | ||
| Trainer |
 George Metuarau
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| captain | Gene Lutton | ||
| WR abbreviation | COK | ||
| WR rank | 52nd (45.11 points) (as of February 4, 2020) |
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Most international matches ? |
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Most points scored ? |
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Most attempts made ? |
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First international Samoa 24:18 Cook Islands (September 1, 1971)  |
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Biggest win Cook Islands 86-0 Tahiti (June 2, 2001)  |
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Biggest defeat Fiji 108: 6 Cook Islands (June 28, 2014) |
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World Championship participations: none |
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The Cook Islands National Rugby Union team represents the Cook Islands in rugby union . The team is classified as a third category national team by the International Rugby Board (IRB).
In the early 1990s, the team also began to play internationally. For the Rugby Union World Cup you could not yet qualify.
history
The Cook Islands played their first international game on September 1, 1971 against Samoa . They just lost with 24:18. The following day they won their first victory against the Wallis and Futuna national teams , before losing to the Samoas team a second time a day later.
It was not until nine years later, in 1980, that a national team from the Cook Islands appeared again internationally. Against the team from Italy , which was on a tour , they lost in a close match with 6:15. In 1983 they lost again in a test match against the selection of Samoas.
Since 1996 they have played regularly against the national teams of Papua New Guinea , Niues and Tahitis .
Despite three participations in the qualification for the Rugby Union World Cup between 1999 and 2007, it has not yet been possible to qualify. Most recently, Tonga clearly failed in the fourth round of the Oceania qualification.
After defeating Papua New Guinea 37:31 in an exciting final in 2013 and thus winning the Oceania Cup, the small island nation qualified for the playoff against Fiji. The winner of this match would get the permanent place in the world championship due to Oceania. The Cook Islands played two preparatory matches in New Zealand, but they lost both. Opponents were Thames Valley and a Blues Development team. The game took place in Fiji on June 28, 2014 . This was the biggest opportunity in the lives of all those men of the Cook Islands, but the team from Fiji was in about 30 places in front of you world rankings entered and left the Cook Islands no chance. The final result was 108: 6 for Fiji, who were able to qualify for the World Cup again. It was the biggest match the Cook Islands had ever played and it was their biggest defeat. There is a documentary about the entire preparation and match of the Cook Islands that has not yet been released (as of July, 2014). It will be called "One more Win".
Participation in world championships
- 1987 did not participate
- 1991 did not participate
- 1995 did not participate
- 1999 2nd qualifying round
- 2003 3rd qualifying round
- 2007 4th qualifying round
- 2011 1st qualifying round
- 2015 playoff round
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ World Rugby Rankings. world.rugby, February 4, 2020, accessed November 26, 2019 .