Niue national rugby league team

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Niue
Badge of Niue team
Team information
NicknameThe Rock
Governing body
RegionAsia-Pacific
Head coach
Captain
Home stadiumAlofi Stadium
IRL ranking24th
Uniforms
First colours
Team results
First international
 Cook Islands 22–8 Niue 
(Rarotonga, Cook Islands; 1986)
Biggest win
 Niue 48–4 South Africa 
(Campbelltown, Australia; 2 May 2015)
Biggest defeat
 Samoa 36–18 Niue 
(Suva, Fiji; 19 October 2004)

The Niue national rugby league team represents Niue in rugby league football. The team played their first match in 1986, and their first Test match in 2013.

History[]

Captain playing for Niue against the Philippines in 2014

The team played their first match in at the 1986 Pacific Cup, losing 22–8 to the Cook Islands. Their first ever win was 14–0 against Fiji at the 1992 Pacific Cup. Niue currently participates in the annual Cabramatta International Nines tournament. They lost their first ever Test match 22–20 against Vanuatu on 12 October 2013.

Results[]

Pacific Cup[]

Year Opponent Score Venue
1986  Cook Islands 8–22 Rarotonga
 Māori 16–32
1990  Tokelau 16–26 Nukuʻalofa
 Tonga 4–58
 Western Samoa 2–52
1992  Tonga 8–24 Carlaw Park, Auckland
 Cook Islands 22–23
 Fiji 14–0
 Western Samoa 41–28
1994 Australian Aboriginal Flag.svg Australian Aborigines 10–64 Suva
 Māori 22–24
 Fijian Presidents XIII 30–8
 Tonga 58–12
2004  Māori 4–54 North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
 Samoa 18–36 Ericsson Stadium, Auckland
 Fiji 24–34 North Harbour Stadium, Auckland

Current squad[]

Squad selected for the 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship;[1]

Test matches[]

Date Opponent Score Venue Ref
12 October 2013  Vanuatu 20–22 Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila [2][3]
4 October 2014  Philippines 36–22 Wentworthville [4]
2 May 2015  South Africa 48–4 Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown [5]
3 October 2015  Cook Islands 44–22 Sydney [6][7]
October 2016  South Africa 50–22 Brakpan Stadium, Pretoria [8]
November 2016  South Africa 44–0
14 October 2017  Lebanon 32–16 Leichhardt Oval, Sydney Link

All-time results record and ranking[]

IRL World Rankings
Official Men's Rankings as of December 2021
Rank Change* Team Pts%
1 Steady  New Zealand 100.00%
2 Increase 1  England 79%
3 Increase 1  Tonga 69%
4 Decrease 2  Australia 60%
5 Increase 1  Papua New Guinea 34%
6 Decrease 1  Fiji 30%
7 Increase 1  France 21%
8 Decrease 1  Samoa 19%
9 Increase 6  Serbia 18%
10 Increase 1  Greece 15%
11 Decrease 2  Scotland 13%
12 Steady  Ireland 12%
13 Decrease 3  Lebanon 10%
14 Increase 11  Netherlands 10%
15 Increase 1  Malta 9.00%
16 Decrease 3  Italy 8.00%
17 Increase 5  Czech Republic 8.00%
18 Increase 2  Jamaica 7.00%
19 Increase 5  Turkey 7.00%
20 Decrease 3  Norway 6.04%
21 Decrease 2  Poland 6.03%
22 Increase 1  Cook Islands 6.02%
23 Decrease 9  Wales 6.00%
24 Decrease 6  United States 5.00%
25 Increase 14  Ukraine 4.29%
26 New entry  Philippines 4%
27 Increase 1  Nigeria 3.81%
28 Decrease 2  Spain 3.61%
29 Increase 2  Germany 3.52%
30 Decrease 9  Hungary 2.86%
31 Increase 2  Ghana 2.85%
32 Decrease 2  Sweden 2.80%
33 Increase 1  Morocco 2.70%
34 Increase 4  Cameroon 1.79%
35 Increase 2  Russia 1.72%
36 Decrease 9  Canada 1.66%
37 Decrease 8  Solomon Islands 1.61%
38 Decrease 2  South Africa 1.31%
39 Increase 7  Bulgaria 1.21%
40 Decrease 5  Vanuatu 1.06%
41 Increase 1  Belgium 1.04
42 Decrease 1  Brazil 1.03%
43 Decrease 11  Chile 1.02%
44 New entry  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.00%
45 Decrease 5  Colombia 0.50%
46 Decrease 3  Denmark 0.10%
47 Decrease 2  Latvia 0.05%
*Change from November 2019

Below is an updated list of Niue's national team record as of 23 December 2020.[9]

Opponent Played Won Drawn Lost Win % For Aga Diff
Australian Aboriginal Flag.svg Australian Aboriginies 1 0 0 1 0% 10 64 –54
 Cook Islands 3 1 0 2 33.33% 74 67 +7
 Fiji 2 1 0 1 50.00% 38 34 +4
Fiji Presidents XIII 1 1 0 0 100% 30 8 +22
 Greece 1 1 0 0 100% 16 8 +8
 Lebanon 1 0 0 1 0% 16 32 –16
 Malta 2 1 0 1 50% 42 40 +2
 Māori 3 0 0 3 0% 42 110 –68
 Philippines 2 2 0 0 100% 60 34 +26
 Samoa 2 0 0 2 0% 46 77 –31
 South Africa 3 3 0 0 100% 142 26 +116
 Tonga 2 0 0 2 0% 20 82 –62
 Vanuatu 1 0 0 1 0% 20 22 –2
Total 24 10 0 14 41.67% 556 604 –48

Notable players of Niuean descent[]

Women's Test Team[]

The Niue women's rugby league team debuted on the international stage in the 2003 Women's Rugby League World Cup, in which they lost both of their matches. On 7 November 2020, they made their return to international rugby league, with a friendly match against the Tonga women's national rugby league team. The match, held at Mt Smart Stadium served as a lead up to the New Zealand Women vs Samoa Women.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Niue announce squad for Emerging Nations World Cup". Rugby League International Federation. 27 July 2018.
  2. ^ Mascord, Steve (12 October 2013). "Mal Meninga's nephew stars as Vanuatu scrape home in historic encounter". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  3. ^ "Victory for Vanuatu over Niue newcomers". Vanuatu Rugby League. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Niue rugby league coach says victory another step forward". Radio New Zealand. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  5. ^ St John, Mark (3 May 2015). "Niue Beat South Africa". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  6. ^ "Niue rugby league claim biggest scalp yet". Radio New Zealand. 5 October 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  7. ^ Ewart, Richard (6 October 2016). "Niue topple Cook Islands to boost their stocks on the international stage". ABC. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  8. ^ "Niue depart for African rugby league tour". Radio New Zealand. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  9. ^ "Head To Head". rugby league project. Retrieved 23 December 2020.

External links[]

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