The Cook Islands Rugby Union has appointed former All Black great Hika Reid as head coach of the national under 19 squad.

He will be ably supported by Cook Islands coaches Walter Tangata and Robert Heather.

CIRU president Chris McKinley says appointing Reid brings the ‘All Black mana to the Cook Islands’.

“Hika Reid comes with a lot of mana and he will bring the All Blacks mana and pride – something we hope to instill in our young Cook Islands players,” says McKinley.

“He will also bring discipline and passion which is what our under 19 players need.”

Reid was born and bred in Rotorua, attending Ngongotaha Primary School, Kaitao Intermediate and Western Heights High School where he made the First XV as a fourth former, playing alongside fellow rugby legend Buck Shelford.

Reid went on to play for the Bay of Plenty and for the All Blacks from 1980 to 1986 and is one of 17 Kiwi rugby living legends.

As an All Black he played 40 games and nine test matches.

Reid also played for New Zealand Maori team, the Bay of Plenty and Wellington provinces.

He has coached professionally in New Zealand, England and Ireland and will now add the Cook Islands to his list.

McKinley is just as excited about the appointment of local coaches Walter Tangata of Avatiu and Robert Heather of Arorangi.

“These two coaches have been bringing up young players at the club and village level for years,” says McKinley.

“They know the under 19 players inside out and have been involved in junior development for a long time.”

As the CIRU work towards achieving the vision of having home grown national rugby squads – McKinley says a new policy the CIRU will implement is to have 50 percent of squad members made up of players from home.

“We have players here to send away but they have to tick all the right boxes,” says McKinley.

“These boxes will include testings and attitude.”

McKinley also acknowledges that the Cooks has a decent base of players who have just left the island for school and rugby overseas who will also be considered for selection into the squad.

Development officers through New Zealand and Australia are also scouting for players off the CIRU radar.

In two weeks an open day will be held for interested under 19 players who will represent the Cook Islands at the Under 19 World Cup Qualifiers in Samoa where 10 other Pacific Islands teams will also contest the tournament – the largest gathering of Pacific Islands rugby teams.

Ultimately McKinley envisages that the under 19 development now by Reid, Walter and Heather will be the base foundation for resurrecting 15-a-side rugby in the Cook Islands with the ultimate goal of a national 15-a-side squad trying to qualify for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

“So we see the development of the under 19 side as the launching pad to lift the status of the senior squad and take it to another level.”

Meanwhile Reid, Walter and Heather will be supported in the management team by manager Grant Wilson and physiotherapist Paul Aitu.

McKinley adds that all the work going into rugby under the new guard is all about instilling the pride back into wearing the Cook Islands rugby jersey.