Captain Henry Strickland can't wait for the Cook Islands' debut
4 APRIL 2007
By Karen Bond
Wednesday evening simply can’t come round soon enough for the Cook Islands squad as that is when they will make their debut against Division B side Chile in the IRB Under 19 World Championship 2007 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The 17.30 local time kick off at Queen’s will be a special occasion for the whole nation, who have been looking forward to this tournament for two months since they beat Papua New Guinea 22-21 in the FORU qualifier in Brisbane, Australia.
Henry Strickland, the player handed the honour of captaining the Cook Islands on their tournament debut, admitted the final five minutes of that qualifier were very tense but that the celebrations more than made up for those nerves.
“When they scored the last try, I was going ‘boys we have to get into it’. I was panicking. Honest to God I was panicking because with five minutes to go they were attacking our line, but our defence held,” Strickland told irbu19.com.
“The feeling after the game was unbelievable, you had to be there to experience it, words can’t explain what we were feeling on that … and we knew when we got back we would be crowned as kings and we are still kings like that back at home.
Kings of the Islands
“Before we were left we were crowned like the kings of the islands because we are the first persons to go for a World Cup. They have been sending us emails, text messages and ringing up our families, saying how is the team, hopefully they’re not getting injured.
“It’s good to hear that from our families.”
However while the Cook Islands are delighted to be in Belfast, they are not here just to make up the numbers in Division B as Strickland explains the nation is looking to the future with a squad that features 11 players aged only 17.
“This is our first time that we have ever been up there, so I reckon it is good to lay a foundation for our young ones, so maybe if we qualify for next year’s competition we can build on that and keep on laying the foundation for our young ones.
“They are saying this competition is about development and that is what the Cook Islands are actually doing at this moment now, just developing rugby back home. We are mainly a young team, so they are practically developing for themselves.
Next generation
“They have then got the opportunity of the next players that are coming through, they can help them and guide them through, they can help them and guide them through because they will have the experience of the year before.
“Just actually playing in this tournament would be an actual success, but probably qualifying for the A Division next year or even to qualify for next year’s tournament would probably be a success, but just being present at this tournament today and for the next three weeks is an honour for us and a succession for our team.
Just actually playing in this tournament would be an actual success, but probably qualifying for the A Division next year or even to qualify for next year’s tournament would probably be a success.
Cook Islands' captain Henry Strickland
“Our coaches have been talking with other nations and they have been giving us tips and pointers of their previous experiences and they have passed it down to our players and we have had team meetings about it as well, all their experiences will definitely be played into our match games and everything like that.”
Unknown opponents
Strickland admits that the Cook Islands know little about their first opponents Chile, so they will be focusing on their own game plan and trying to play to their own strengths while trying to enjoy the occasion.
“We have just heard things about them [Chile], but our coaching staff has been telling us don’t listen to anything, just focus on our game, focus on our game plans, we can’t wait for Wednesday, it will be a good game.
“When it was announced back home that our first game was with Chile, our boys just started training, the intensity was high and you could feel the spirit of the team getting out there. We just want to know we can do this on our first game.
“Our strength is probably in our forwards, as everyone does know worldwide that Pacific nations have a solid forward pack and that is what we are trying to emphasize in the game that we have a good solid forward pack as well as fast backs to finish off the foundation from the forwards.
“We are trying to use that as our strength for this game coming up. We know that the Chileans are fast and they will burn us on the outsides but if we keep them in the forwards it will be a good game up front.”
Click here to see the squad lists for the Cook Islands v Chile fixture at Queens.
Related Items/Links
Related Unions