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2004 (2004) Pacific Rim Championship  ()
Number of teams	6
Host country	New Zealand
Winner	Cook Islands (1st title)
Tournaments  < 1998 Pacific Cup 2006 >

The 2004 Pacific Rim Championship and the 2004 Pacific Cup was the 9th Pacific Cup, a rugby league 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 and Pacific Island Rugby League Association (PIRLA), was a revival of the Pacific Cup which had not been held since 1997 due to the Super League war. 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 Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand 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, Ericsson Stadium and North Harbour Stadium.

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 who was assisted by Terry Hermansson.

Player	Club
Sam Andrews	Waicoa Bay Stallions
Kurt Cawdron	Auckland Lions
Taite Daniels	Northern Storm
Teteira Davis	Wellington Orcas
Willy Henare	Auckland Lions
Aoterangi Herangi	Auckland Lions
Charlie Herekotukutuku	Canterbury Bulls
Nathan Hohaia	Taranaki Wildcats
Shane Wallacehoskin	Taranaki Wildcats
Odell Manuel	Auckland Lions
Tukua Matthews	Waicoa Bay Stallions
Vern Moana-Mason	Waicoa Bay Stallions
Glen Rota	Auckland Lions
Peter Prime	Northern Storm
Herewini Rangi	Eastern Tornadoes
Kererua Savage	Hawke's Bay Unicorns
Barry Tawera	Waicoa Bay Stallions
Sonny Whakarau	Central Falcons
Mike Whakatihi	Central Falcons
Vince Whare	Canterbury Bulls

Fiji

The Fijian squad was composed mainly of locally based players.

Pacific Rim Competition

Pool A

Māori	54 – 4	Niue

Samoa	36 – 18	Niue

Māori	70 – 10	Samoa
Try: Davis (3), Hohaia, Herekotukutuku, Moana-Mason, Herangi, Prime, Rangi, Savage, Whakatihi Goal: Davis (13)		Try: Ropati, Tavita Goal: Ropati

Pool B

Fiji	6 – 56	Tonga
	report

Cook Islands	18 – 10	Tonga
Try: B. Ford, N. Ford, Taia Goal: Mataora (3)		Try: Sete, Taufaʻao Goal: Lilo

Cook Islands	20 – 12	Fiji
Try: Epati, Glassie, Taia Goal: Mataora (4)		Try: Saravaki, Soqe Goal: Tinivata (2)

Bowl Final

Fiji	34 – 24	Niue
Try: Saravaki (2) Tora, Karaitiana, Koroi, Tanoa Goal: Tanoa (4), Saravaki		Try: Ikinofo, Vasau, Pulesea, Pesene, Talafagi Goal: Logopati (2)

Grand Final

Cook Islands	46 – 4	Māori
Try: B. Ford (3), N. Ford (2), Jeffries, Mitchell, Pritchard, Tuakura Goal: Mataora (5)		Try: Prime

Pacific Cup

Pool A

Samoa XIII	44 – 10	Auckland Māori

Auckland Māori	70 – 0	New Caledonia

Samoa XIII	76 – 0	New Caledonia

Pool B

Tonga XIII	22 – 17	Cook Islands XIII

Tonga XIII	22 – 18	American Samoa

Cook Islands XIII	28 – 12	American Samoa

Final

Samoa XIII	52 – 18	Tonga XIII

References

1. ^ Auckland Hosts Pacific Rugby League Showdown Archived 2006-11-12 at the Wayback Machine eventpolynesia.com
2. John Coffey, Bernie Wood (2008). 100 years: Māori rugby league, 1908-2008. Huia Publishers. pp. 329–330. ISBN 9781869693312.
3. "Taranaki pair picked for NZ Maori cup team". Taranaki Daily News. New Plymouth, New Zealand. 7 October 2004. p. 12 – via NewsBank.
4. "Bati targets defensive patterns". Fiji Times. Suva. 5 October 2004. p. 36 – via NewsBank.
5. "NZ Maori Thrash Samoa". Rugby League in New Zealand. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
6. "Cook Islands survive Tongan onslaught". Rugby League in New Zealand. 20 October 2004. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
7. "Cooks into Pacific Rim Grand Final". Rugby League in New Zealand. 22 October 2004. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
8. "Pacific Rim Grand Final Cook Islands v NZ Maori". Rugby League in New Zealand. Archived from the original on 30 October 2004. Retrieved 1 August 2022.

External links

• "NZRL - 2004 Pacific Rim Results". New Zealand Rugby League. Archived from the original on 8 November 2009.

• 2004 in rugby league
• 2004 in New Zealand rugby league
• International rugby league competitions hosted by New Zealand
• Pacific Cup