Cook Islands Rugby Union

Pacific rugby minnows call for funding boost

The Cook Islands suffered an upset defeat against Tahiti last weekend in Rarotonga in the Oceania Cup, ending their faint Rugby World Cup hopes at the first hurdle.

It was the first time the team had played together since conceding more than 100 points against Fiji in a world cup qualifier three years ago.

Tahiti had also been inactive since finishing second at the last Oceania Cup in 2015.

The CIRU's Moana Moeka'a said they simply don't play enough.

"Outside of the so-called big three it's very hard," Moeka'a said.

Cooks rugby can't afford to pick overseas players

The winner of this year's tournament will advance to a two-match series against the winner of the Asia regional qualifying tournament between Hong Kong, Malaysia and South Korea.

The winner of that series will contest the Rugby World Cup repechage tournament, alongside the third-ranked team from the Pacific Nations Cup between Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.