The 2004 Pacific Rim Championship and the 2004 Pacific Cup was the 9th

Pacific Cup The Pacific Cup was a rugby league football competition for national teams from the Pacific region. History The Pacific Cup was started in 1975 by Keith Gittoes of the New South Wales Rugby League.rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

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.

Background

The tournament, organised by both the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

and

Pacific Island Rugby League Association The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

(PIRLA), was a revival of the

Pacific Cup The Pacific Cup was a rugby league football competition for national teams from the Pacific region. History The Pacific Cup was started in 1975 by Keith Gittoes of the New South Wales Rugby League.Super League war The Super League war was a commercial competition between the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the Australian Super League to establish pre-eminence in professional rugby league competition in Australia and New Zealand in the mid-1990s. Super ...

. 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

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and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

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. Matches were played at

Waitemata Stadium Waitemata or Waitematā may refer to: * Waitematā Harbour, the primary harbour of Auckland, New Zealand * Waitematā (local board area), a local government area in Auckland, New Zealand ** Waitematā Local Board, a local board of Auckland Council, ...

, Ericsson Stadium and

North Harbour Stadium North Harbour Stadium is a stadium situated in Albany, in North Shore City, New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, association football, rugby league, and baseball are a ...

.Auckland Hosts Pacific Rugby League Showdown
''eventpolynesia.com''

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.

Pacific Rim squads

New Zealand Māori

New Zealand Māori were coached by

Tawera Nikau Tawera Nuieia Nikau (born 1 January 1967) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative forward, he played club football at a number of different club ...

who was assisted by

Terry Hermansson Terry Brian Hermansson, is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. An international representative , he played club football in England, Australia and New Zealand. Playing career Hermansson was a Schoolboy Kiwi in 1982 and ma ...

Fiji

The Fijian squad was composed mainly of locally based players.

Pacific Rim Competition

Pool A

Pool B

Bowl Final

Grand Final

Pacific Cup

Pool A

Pool B

Final

References

External links

* {{2004 in rugby league

Oceania Cup The Oceania Cup is an international men's field hockey competition organised by Oceania Hockey Federation (OHF). It is held every two years to determine which teams will receive an automatic berth to the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup and Summer Olymp ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...