Rugby league in the Cook Islands

Rugby league in the Cook Islands
Country	Cook Islands
National team	Cook Islands
First played	1980

Rugby league is a popularteam sport played in the Cook Islands.

Officially the club rugby league competition commenced 1980. The first international match was played against Niue at the 1986 Pacific Cup which was hosted in Rarotonga and also included teams from Samoa, Tonga, NZ Maori and Tokelau. In the mid 1990s rugby league in the Cook Islands received significant funding through the SuperLeague organisation. Traditionally, much of the rugby league played by Cook Islanders has been in Australia and New Zealand where there are strong Cook Island populations. In recent times, this has changed considerably.

In more recent times, Cook Islands rugby league has received a major boost through the involvement of former professional rugby league players Kevin Iro and Matt Rua - both native Cook Islanders - in the form of selector and defensive coach for the national side. Both players represented New Zealand internationally and played many NRL games.