Cedric Toru (L) and Anthony Mataroa predict a bright future for the Cook Islands
2 MAY 2007
By Karen Bond
New Zealand may have been crowned champions at last month’s IRB Under 19 World Championship 2007, but they weren’t the only nation to return home as national heroes after the tournament in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
For the same could be true of the Cook Islands, despite the fact that the closest the nation came to a victory on their debut in the IRB Under 19 World Championship was a 10-10 draw with Chinese Taipei in the Division B pool stages.
The Cook Islands may have finished 12th in Division B after losses to Chile (29-14) and Tonga (72-6) in the pool stages, then Russia (22-14) and Chinese Taipei (29-10) in the playoff matches, but for them winning wasn’t the be all and end all of the tournament.
Far more important were the lessons that the coaches, management and players would learn from their experiences both on and off the field in Belfast, because these could then be put into practice to facilitate development of a sport loved in the Cook Islands.
Such a legacy was already evident in the squad with 11 of the 26 players selected for this piece of Cook Islands’ history were only 17 when the tournament began and would be able to pass on their experiences to inspire others to greater success in the future.
Eye opener
This aspect was certainly on the minds of assistant coach Cedric Toru and captain Anthony Mataroa when Total Rugby Radio caught up with them the day after their final game with Chinese Taipei to look back on that debut.
“It has been a challenge and it has been exciting. It is the first time of everything for us, coming to a big tournament like this. We came with a blind mind, but once we arrived here it really opened our eyes up,” Toru explained.
“For the Cook Islands to qualify for this is really, really big.
“I know it hasn’t been very positive, but for us as the coaches, the management and the players that came to this tournament, it has been a positive step for us and so when we go back there is going to be a lot of homework to be done to achieve the next qualification.”
Toru spent time in Belfast picking the brains of his counterparts from Chinese Taipei, Tonga, Zimbabwe and USA among others, but knows that even with this advice the Cook Islands will not truly reap the rewards of this tournament for maybe a few years yet.
Homework aplenty
“I have learnt something from them that I could take back and just put them all together and hopefully we will achieve something. We actually went out to watch the bigger boys in Division A, the New Zealand team, England team, Irish team, South African team.
“New Zealand is like an older brother to us in our country, so we try and learn their style of rugby, but as Pacific Islanders we like the open style of rugby, not like the constructive and positive, so yes it has been a learning curve for myself and the team.
“Going back I think we need to work with our management side of things and then organise our players properly and to mentally and physically put them in order for how we are going to approach our approach to the game.
“We have about 15 islands in the Cook Islands and some of our boys are mainly from Australia and New Zealand, so we have to get a management that works in those other bigger countries.
“As for the small islands, the 15 islands back home, we have to work something out. We need to group the age group players in our country and develop them, so maybe it won’t be for the next year or so.
Laying foundations
I know it hasn’t been very positive, but for us as the coaches, the management and the players that came to this tournament, it has been a positive step for us and so when we go back there is going to be a lot of homework to be done to achieve the next qualification.
Cook Islands assistant coach Cedric Toru
“I am looking about another couple more years then we will have plenty more victories, but for the next year or so it is a developing stage for us because we have seen what happens here and we have to go back and compile everything and work slowly to be achieving.”
Mataroa, who was one of only two 19 year-olds in the squad coming into the event, echoes the sentiments of Toru and is confident that the experiences of Belfast will stand the Cook Islands in good stead for the future.
“It has been a great experience and a memory I am sure the boys will never forget, the first time in a World Cup, it just a great feeling, simply unexplainable,” enthused Mataroa, who is on a rugby league scholarship in Christchurch, New Zealand.
“It is really big for us, we have just got to take what we have learned from here and just try and apply it to our style of rugby back home and hopefully it will help our rugby back home and improve it.
“I am sure we have done our country proud. We have carried 15 islands on our shoulders. I am sure our families will be proud of us. Hopefully these boys will take what they have learned from here and take it back and teach the younger generation coming through.
“We had a talk with some of the younger boys, that when they come back they had got to try to finish what we couldn’t finish. We have come out with a good start, but we didn’t get the finish that we wanted, so hopefully when the younger guys come through they can start leading the way from there.”
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