Pacific Rim Championship

The 2004 Pacific Rim Championship and the 2004 Pacific Cup was the 9th Pacific Cup, a rugby league tournament held between Pacific teams. The tournament was hosted in Auckland and for the first time split into two competitions; The Pacific Rim Championship between national teams and the Pacific Cup between Auckland-based selections. In the final of the Pacific Rim competition the Cook Islands defeated New Zealand Māori 46-6 while Samoa XIII defeated Tonga XIII 52–18 to win the Pacific Cup.

2004 (2004) Pacific Rim Championship  ()
Number of teams6
Host country New Zealand
Winner Cook Islands (1st title)
Tournaments
2006 > 

Background

The tournament, organised by both the New Zealand Rugby League and Pacific Island Rugby League Association (PIRLA), was a revival of the Pacific Cup which had not been held since 1997 due to the Super League war. The aim of the Pacific Rim Championship was to promote awareness of the game in the region with a view to re-establishing international fixtures and full contact with the main nations Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand in the near future.

The teams that participated in the 2004 Pacific Rim competition were: Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand Māori, Niue, Samoa and the Cook Islands. The Pacific Cup included Auckland Māori, New Caledonia, Samoa XIII, Tonga XIII and two other teams.

The official opening was held as part of the pre-match programme for the Tri-Nations test match between Australia and the New Zealand Kiwis on 16 October. A colourful parade of flags representing the participating countries was led into the stadium in front of about 20,000 spectators before kick-off.[1]

Matches were played at Waitemata Stadium, Ericsson Stadium and North Harbour Stadium.[1]

Squads

The Pacific Rim competition featured international and New Zealand based players while the Pacific Cup squads were limited to Auckland-based players with the exception of New Caledonia who sent a development squad.[2]

New Zealand Māori

New Zealand Māori were coached by Tawera Nikau who was assisted by Terry Hermansson.[3]

Player Club
Sam AndrewsNew Zealand Waicoa Bay Stallions
Kurt CawdronNew Zealand Auckland Lions
Taite DanielsNew Zealand Northern Storm
Teteira DavisNew Zealand Wellington Orcas
Willy HenareNew Zealand Auckland Lions
Aoterangi HerangiNew Zealand Auckland Lions
Charlie HerekotukutukuNew Zealand Canterbury Bulls
Nathan HohaiaNew Zealand Taranaki Wildcats
Shane WallacehoskinNew Zealand Taranaki Wildcats
Odell ManuelNew Zealand Auckland Lions
Tukua MatthewsNew Zealand Waicoa Bay Stallions
Vern Moana-MasonNew Zealand Waicoa Bay Stallions
Glen RotaNew Zealand Auckland Lions
Peter PrimeNew Zealand Northern Storm
Herewini RangiNew Zealand Eastern Tornadoes
Kererua SavageNew Zealand Hawke's Bay Unicorns
Barry TaweraNew Zealand Waicoa Bay Stallions
Sonny WhakarauNew Zealand Central Falcons
Mike WhakatihiNew Zealand Central Falcons
Vince WhareNew Zealand Canterbury Bulls

Fiji

The Fijian squad was composed mainly of locally based players.[4]

Player Club
Isimeli Soqe
Iowane Divavesi
Lusio Tanoa
Neori Ravono
Saula Lalagavesi
Saimoni Ralulu
Toakula Tuqiri
Alipate Tuinivata
Saverio Matairakula
Atekini Roko
Sevanaia Koroi
Asaeli Saravaki
Marika Koroivui
Lagilagi Golea
Semesa Cadrakilagi
Tevita Volavola
Joji Nuidamu
Jone Wesele
Semisi Tora

Pacific Rim Competition

Pool A
17 October 2004
Māori  54 – 4  Niue
19 October 2004
Samoa  36 – 18  Niue
21 October 2004
Māori  70 – 10  Samoa
Try: Davis (3), Hohaia, Herekotukutuku, Moana-Mason, Herangi, Prime, Rangi, Savage, Whakatihi
Goal: Davis (13)		 [5]
 Try: Ropati, Tavita
Goal: Ropati

Pool B
17 October 2004
Fiji  6 – 56  Tonga
report
19 October 2004
Cook Islands  18 – 10  Tonga
Try: B. Ford, N. Ford, Taia
Goal: Mataora (3)		 [6]
 Try: Sete, Taufaʻao
Goal: Lilo
21 October 2004
Cook Islands  20 – 12  Fiji
Try: Epati, Glassie, Taia
Goal: Mataora (4)		 [7]
 Try: Saravaki, Soqe
Goal: Tinivata (2)

Bowl Final
23 October 2004
Fiji  34 – 24  Niue
Try: Saravaki (2) Tora, Karaitiana, Koroi, Tanoa
Goal: Tanoa (4), Saravaki		 Try: Ikinofo, Vasau, Pulesea, Pesene, Talafagi
Goal: Logopati (2)

Grand Final
23 October 2004
Cook Islands  46 – 4  Māori
Try: B. Ford (3), N. Ford (2), Jeffries, Mitchell, Pritchard, Tuakura
Goal: Mataora (5)		 [8]
 Try: Prime

Pacific Cup

Pool A
17 October 2004
Samoa XIII  44 – 10  Auckland Māori
18 October 2004
Auckland Māori  70 – 0  New Caledonia
20 October 2004
Samoa XIII  76 – 0  New Caledonia

Pool B
17 October 2004
Tonga XIII  22 – 17  Cook Islands XIII
18 October 2004
Tonga XIII  22 – 18  American Samoa
20 October 2004
Cook Islands XIII  28 – 12  American Samoa

Final
23 October 2004
Samoa XIII  52 – 18  Tonga XIII

References
  1. Auckland Hosts Pacific Rugby League Showdown Archived 2006-11-12 at the Wayback Machine eventpolynesia.com
  2. John Coffey, Bernie Wood (2008). 100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908-2008. Huia Publishers. pp. 329–330. ISBN 9781869693312.
  3. "Taranaki pair picked for NZ Maori cup team". Taranaki Daily News. New Plymouth, New Zealand. 7 October 2004. p. 12 – via NewsBank.
  4. "Bati targets defensive patterns". Fiji Times. Suva. 5 October 2004. p. 36 – via NewsBank.
  5. "NZ Maori Thrash Samoa". Rugby League in New Zealand. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  6. "Cook Islands survive Tongan onslaught". Rugby League in New Zealand. 20 October 2004. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  7. "Cooks into Pacific Rim Grand Final". Rugby League in New Zealand. 22 October 2004. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  8. "Pacific Rim Grand Final Cook Islands v NZ Maori". Rugby League in New Zealand. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
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