Niue national rugby union team
| Shirt badge/Association crest | |
| Nickname | To'a Niue XV |
|---|---|
| Union | Niue Rugby Football Union |
| Head coach | Metric Ikitoelagi |
| Captain | Luke Gibb |
|
First colours
| |
| World Rugby ranking | |
| Current | 101 (as of 29 January 2024) |
| Highest | 94 (23 November 2020) |
| First international | |
| Fiji 124–4 Niue (Apia, Samoa; 10 September 1983) | |
| Biggest win | |
| Niue 87–0 Nauru (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; 31 August 2019) | |
| Biggest defeat | |
| Fiji 124–4 Niue (Apia, Samoa; 10 September 1983) | |
The Niue Island national rugby union team is the national team of the third tier rugby union playing nation of Niue Island. The team first started playing in 1983 in mainly competes in the Oceania Cup, which it won in 2008.[1] Rugby union in Niue Island is administered by the Niue Rugby Football Union.
Results
[edit ]Niue's first international match was at the 1983 South Pacific Games in Suva against hosts Fiji. The Niueans managed to score a try against the eventual tournament winners but were defeated by 124–4.[2] The team found success in the 2008 Oceania Cup, defeating New Caledonia by 27–5 in the final on 1 September 2008.[1]
As of 29 May 2013, Niue was ranked 71st in the IRB world rankings. The team had played 10 international matches by that time, four against the Cook Islands and three against Tahiti. Other matches have been against Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu.[2]
Players
[edit ]Some of Niue's best players are professionals in New Zealand. Former Niue captain Matt Faleuka played for Northland before moving to Italian club Overmach Rugby Parma in 2007.
While the Niue and the Cook Islands teams did not compete in the Pacific Tri-Nations competition, they did supply players to the squad for the Pacific Islanders' tour in 2004 (but not in 2006).
The Niue sevens team have been active in the IRB World Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.
Record
[edit ]World Cup
[edit ]| World Cup record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Qualification status | ||||||
| Australia New Zealand 1987 | Not invited | ||||||
| United Kingdom Republic of Ireland France 1991 | did not enter | ||||||
| South Africa 1995 | did not enter | ||||||
| Wales 1999 | did not enter | ||||||
| Australia 2003 | did not qualify | ||||||
| France 2007 | did not qualify | ||||||
| New Zealand 2011 | did not qualify | ||||||
| England 2015 | did not qualify | ||||||
| Japan 2019 | did not qualify | ||||||
Overall
[edit ]| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook Islands | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 28.57% |
| Fiji | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Nauru | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| New Caledonia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Papua New Guinea | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% |
| Solomon Islands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% |
| Tahiti | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75% |
| Vanuatu | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Total | 23 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 47.83% |
Current squad
[edit ]The squad was selected for the 2019 Oceania Rugby Cup.
| Player | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Luke Gibb (c) | Hooker | New Zealand Paremata-Plimmerton RFC |
| Matthew Jackson | Hooker | Australia Krueger Crocs |
| Samuel Ikihega | Prop | Australia Moorabbin Rams |
| Stephen Tapuosi | Prop | United States Chicago Lions |
| Morre Tukuniu | Prop | Niue Southern Marlins |
| Maloney Taleni | Prop | New Zealand Otahuhu RFC |
| Pierce Makaola | Lock | Australia Northern Panthers |
| George Pamatatau | Lock | Australia North Brisbane Rugby Club |
| Auston Puhotau | Lock | Australia North Brisbane Rugby Club |
| Sagele Harrison | Lock | unknown |
| Quinton Strickland | Flanker | Australia Footscray R.U.F.C. |
| Togatule Kose | Flanker | Australia Mareeba Gladiators |
| Nick Laufoli | Flanker | New Zealand Kava Club |
| Randy Liuvaie | Number 8 | New Zealand Freyberg Old Boys RFC |
| Khalum Halo | Scrum-half | New Zealand Manukau Rovers RFC |
| Gavin Patuki | Scrum-half | New Zealand Southern Cross |
| Shaun-Adam Atamu | Fly-half | New Zealand Bombay R.F.C. |
| David Pamatatau | Fly-half | unknown |
| Anthony Liuvaie | Centre | New Zealand Old Boys University RFC |
| Lepau Feau-Fuhiniu | Centre | New Zealand Old Boys University RFC |
| Dawson Mele | Centre | New Zealand Southern Cross |
| Cyruss Payne | Wing | New Zealand Marist Saints |
| Tui Leatigaga | Wing | Australia Camden Rugby |
| Dee Saele Nanai | Wing | New Zealand Manukau Rovers |
| Tonga Tongotongo | Wing | New Zealand Manukau Rovers |
| Kegan Tuhega | Fullback | Australia Pine Rivers Bears Junior League Club |
| Logan Norman | Fullback | Wales Bangor RFC |
See also
[edit ]References
[edit ]- ^ a b "Niue take Oceania Cup rugby union final" Archived 16 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, ABC Radio Australia, 1 September 2008
- ^ a b "Niue test rugby scores". Rugby International. 21 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015.
External links
[edit ]
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