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.
| Nickname | To'a Niue XV | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Niue Rugby Football Union | |
| Head coach | Metric Ikitoelagi | |
| Captain | Luke Gibb | |
| ||
| 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) | ||
Results
editNiue'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
editSome 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
editWorld Cup
edit| World Cup record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Qualification status | ||||||
| Not invited | |||||||
| did not enter | |||||||
| did not enter | |||||||
| did not enter | |||||||
| did not qualify | |||||||
| did not qualify | |||||||
| did not qualify | |||||||
| did not qualify | |||||||
| did not qualify | |||||||
Overall
edit| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 28.57% | |
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0% | |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33.33% | |
| 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75% | |
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% | |
| Total | 23 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 47.83% |
Current squad
editThe squad was selected for the 2019 Oceania Rugby Cup.
| Player | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Luke Gibb (c) | Hooker | |
| Matthew Jackson | Hooker | |
| Samuel Ikihega | Prop | |
| Stephen Tapuosi | Prop | |
| Morre Tukuniu | Prop | |
| Maloney Taleni | Prop | |
| Pierce Makaola | Lock | |
| George Pamatatau | Lock | |
| Auston Puhotau | Lock | |
| Sagele Harrison | Lock | |
| Quinton Strickland | Flanker | |
| Togatule Kose | Flanker | |
| Nick Laufoli | Flanker | |
| Randy Liuvaie | Number 8 | |
| Khalum Halo | Scrum-half | |
| Gavin Patuki | Scrum-half | |
| Shaun-Adam Atamu | Fly-half | |
| David Pamatatau | Fly-half | |
| Anthony Liuvaie | Centre | |
| Lepau Feau-Fuhiniu | Centre | |
| Dawson Mele | Centre | |
| Cyruss Payne | Wing | |
| Tui Leatigaga | Wing | |
| Dee Saele Nanai | Wing | |
| Tonga Tongotongo | Wing | |
| Kegan Tuhega | Fullback | |
| Logan Norman | Fullback |
See also
editReferences
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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