Niue national rugby union team
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(s) | To'a Niue XV | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | Niue Rugby Football Union | |
| Head coach | Metric Ikitoelagi | |
| Captain | Luke Gibb | |
| ||
| World Rugby ranking | ||
| Current | 98 (as of 16 January 2023) | |
| 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
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
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
World Cup
| World Cup record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Qualification status | ||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}  1987 | Not invited | ||||||
   1991 | did not enter | ||||||
 1995 | did not enter | ||||||
 1999 | did not enter | ||||||
| 2003 | did not qualify | ||||||
| 2007 | did not qualify | ||||||
| 2011 | did not qualify | ||||||
 2015 | did not qualify | ||||||
 2019 | did not qualify | ||||||
Overall
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | % Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cook Islands | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 28.57 |
| Fiji | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Nauru | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
 New Caledonia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
 Papua New Guinea | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 |
 Solomon Islands | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 66.66 |
 Tahiti | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 75.00 |
 Vanuatu | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 |
| Total | 23 | 11 | 12 | 0 | 47.82% |
Current squad
The squad was selected for the 2019 Oceania Rugby Cup.
| Player | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|
| Luke Gibb (c) | Hooker | Paremata-Plimmerton RFC |
| Matthew Jackson | Hooker | Krueger Crocs |
| Samuel Ikihega | Prop | Moorabbin Rams |
| Stephen Tapuosi | Prop |  Chicago Lions |
| Morre Tukuniu | Prop | Southern Marlins |
| Maloney Taleni | Prop | Otahuhu RFC |
| Pierce Makaola | Lock | Northern Panthers |
| George Pamatatau | Lock | North Brisbane Rugby Club |
| Auston Puhotau | Lock | North Brisbane Rugby Club |
| Sagele Harrison | Lock |  unknown |
| Quinton Strickland | Flanker | Footscray R.U.F.C. |
| Togatule Kose | Flanker | Mareeba Gladiators |
| Nick Laufoli | Flanker | Kava Club |
| Randy Liuvaie | Number 8 | Freyberg Old Boys RFC |
| Khalum Halo | Scrum-half | Manukau Rovers RFC |
| Gavin Patuki | Scrum-half | Southern Cross |
| Shaun-Adam Atamu | Fly-half | Bombay R.F.C. |
| David Pamatatau | Fly-half | unknown |
| Anthony Liuvaie | Centre | Old Boys University RFC |
| Lepau Feau-Fuhiniu | Centre | Old Boys University RFC |
| Dawson Mele | Centre | Southern Cross |
| Cyruss Payne | Wing | Marist Saints |
| Tui Leatigaga | Wing | Camden Rugby |
| Dee Saele Nanai | Wing | Manukau Rovers |
| Tonga Tongotongo | Wing | Manukau Rovers |
| Kegan Tuhega | Fullback | Pine Rivers Bears Junior League Club |
| Logan Norman | Fullback | Bangor RFC |
See also
References
- "Niue take Oceania Cup rugby union final" Archived 16 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, ABC Radio Australia, 1 September 2008
- "Niue test rugby scores". Rugby International. 21 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 February 2015.