Niue national rugby league team

Niue

Team information
Nickname	The Rock, Coconut Crab (Uga)
Governing body	Niue Rugby League
Region	Asia-Pacific
Head coach	Brendan Perenara
Captain	Mike Filimona
Home stadium	Alofi Stadium
IRL ranking	47th
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
Tonga 58–4 Niue (Nuku'alofa, Tonga; 24 October 1990) Australian Aborigines 64–10 Niue (Suva, Fiji; 22 October 1994)

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 Mike Filimona 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.

On 4 October 2014, the Niue rugby league team record their first ever international test match win defeating the Philippines 36–22. In May 2015, Niue Rugby League recorded their second international test match win against the South African Rugby League side, 48–4.

Results

Date	Opponent	Score	Competition	Venue	Ref
27 October 1986	Cook Islands	8–22	1986 Pacific Cup	Rarotonga, Cook Islands
29 October 1986	Māori	16–32
21 October 1990	Tokelau	16–26	1986 Pacific Cup	Nukuʻalofa, Tonga
24 October 1990	Tonga	4–58
26 October 1990	Western Samoa	2–52
18 October 1992	Tonga	8–24	1992 Pacific Cup	Carlaw Park, Auckland, New Zealand
20 October 1992	Cook Islands	22–23
22 October 1992	Fiji	14–0
26 October 1992	Western Samoa	41–28
22 October 1994	Australian Aborigines	10–64	1994 Pacific Cup	Suva, Fiji
29 October 1994	Māori	22–24
3 November 1994	Fijian Presidents XIII	30–8
5 November 1994	Tonga	58–12
17 October 2004	Māori	4–54	Pacific Rim Championship	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
19 October 2004	Samoa	18–36		Ericsson Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
23 October 2004	Fiji	24–34		North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
12 October 2013	Vanuatu	20–22	International	Port Vila Municipal Stadium, Port Vila, Vanuatu
4 October 2014	Philippines	36–22	International	Wentworthville, Australia
2 May 2015	South Africa	48–4	International	Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown, Australia
3 October 2015	Cook Islands	44–22	International	Sydney, Australia
29 October 2016	South Africa	50–22	International	Brakpan Stadium, Pretoria, South Africa
2 November 2016	South Africa	44–0	International
14 October 2017	Lebanon	16–32	World Cup Warm-up	Leichhardt Oval, Sydney, Australia
4 October 2018	Malta	26–16	2018 Emerging Nations World Championship	Sydney, Australia
7 October 2018	Philippines	24–12
10 October 2018	Greece	16–8
13 October 2018	Malta	16–24
27 October 2018	Italy	32–36	International	Marconi Stadium, Sydney, Australia

All-time results record and ranking

IRL Men's World Rankings
Official rankings as of 21 December 2023
Rank	Change	Team	Pts %
1		Australia	100.00
2		New Zealand	91.00
3	1	England	74.00
4	1	Samoa	70.00
5		Tonga	54.00
6		Papua New Guinea	50.00
7		Fiji	49.00
8	1	France	24.00
9	1	Lebanon	24.00
10	3	Cook Islands	22.00
11	1	Serbia	19.00
12	6	Netherlands	17.00
13	1	Italy	15.00
14	5	Malta	15.00
15	1	Greece	14.00
16	4	Ireland	14.00
17	6	Wales	13.00
18	3	Jamaica	10.00
19	2	Scotland	9.00
20	8	Ukraine	7.00
21	6	Czech Republic	7.00
22	1	Germany	6.00
23	10	Philippines	6.00
24	5	Poland	6.00
25	1	South Africa	5.00
26	4	Chile	5.00
27	4	Kenya	0.00
28	6	Norway	4.00
29	6	Nigeria	4.00
30	6	Ghana	4.00
31	6	Brazil	4.00
32	12	Turkey	3.00
33	4	United States	3.00
34	1	Bulgaria	3.00
35	5	Cameroon	2.00
36	2	Montenegro	2.00
37	5	Spain	2.00
38	6	Japan	1.00
39		Albania	1.00
40	4	Colombia	1.00
41	6	El Salvador	1.00
42		North Macedonia	1.00
43	1	Morocco	1.00
44	3	Sweden	0.00
45		Bosnia and Herzegovina	0.00
46	3	Canada	0.00
47		Niue	0.00
48	9	Solomon Islands	0.00
49	1	Belgium	0.00
50	10	Hungary	0.00
51	5	Vanuatu	0.00
52	3	Argentina	0.00
53	3	Denmark	0.00
54	3	Latvia	0.00
55		Estonia	0.00
Complete rankings at INTRL.SPORT

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

Opponent	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %	For	Aga	Diff
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
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

Current squad

Squad selected for the 2018 Emerging Nations World Championship;

• Jake Samoa
• Zebastian Luisi
• Eddie Paea
• Kurt Bernard
• Temata Rangi
• Mike Filimona
• Tamati Ulukita
• George Lolo
• Sione Tovo
• Tuki Jackson
• Jamie Hunt
• Jo Tamasi
• Wes Lolo
• Tristian Alvarado
• Aziah Ikitule
• Audrey Kaufusi
• Huggard Tongatule
• Latrell Schaumkel
• Alex Seini
• Alfred Smalley
• Jordan Tongahai
• Mike Williams
• Cyruss Payne
• Christian Ulukita

Notable players of Niuean descent

• Dylan Brown
• Geoff Daniela
• Glen Fisiiahi
• Dene Halatau
• Junior Langi
• Isaac Liu
• Heilum Luki
• Zebastian Luisi
• Makahesi Makatoa
• Eddie Paea
• Joseph Paulo
• Junior Paulo
• Toafofoa Sipley
• Siosifa Talakai
• Albert Talipeau
• Motu Tony
• Sione Tovo
• Billy Weepu

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

• Niue national rugby union team

External links

• Official website
• Niue national rugby league team on Facebook