Cook Islands national 7s team are now in the red zone as they physically and psychologically prepare for the Oceania Rugby 7’s in Honiara, Solomon Islands on December 7.

Coached by Clive Nicholas and backed by a team of experts including friend and advisor Dr Nick Gill, the Strength and Conditioning mastermind of the All Blacks,  Nicholas will test his sevens knowledge and team fitness levels against some of the most revered countries in the South Pacific, who include Samoa, Australia and Fiji.  

Team manager Simon Iopu Johnston says they have placed a lot of the onus on the players to prove through their own actions that they are reliable, dependable and committed, which are attributes vital to them as a team mate.

“And hopefully skills they can take into their own lives as men in the outside world. So, simple things like being Reliable in turning up to training, being Courageous or Brave in communicating with management when they are not able to, expectations they must start learning asap.  These are character building ingredients Nicholas is trying to build within the team,” Johnston said.

 “The challenges have been immense. A lot of our challenges are financial which CIRU Chairman Simi Teiotu and Board has been active in finding solutions for us.  Other than that the team will be holding a fundraiser fun run around the island on Saturday from 8am starting at Avatiu through Arorangi way...

But we’ve also been challenged in other areas that we thought we wouldn’t have issues with e.g. Selections and Player availability,” he said.

He said many of the players out of New Zealand have not been forthcoming with making themselves available.

“Some are unavailable due to work commitments, others have put their hand up to rep but after digging a little bit deeper we’ve found that they are not Cook Islanders and then there are the ones who just don’t want to rep our nation. So, firstly, NZ will not be represented in this team.”

He says “Australia will be represented with a couple of quality players out of Brisbane who will join the team in the Solomon’s.”

“Winning comes from an emphasis on the ground work through training and focus on rugby, not on flashy things like cultural performances or team string bands.” Aren’t you tired of people saying ae this team’s culture performances are top notch but when it comes to rugby, oosh eaa rae.” Johnston said.

He added: “HC Clive and I did a deep dive into why this is so common amongst the many Pacific island teams and realised that the common factor was the over emphasis on the cultural performances. Our culture and traditions are important but we’ve got to remember our primary objective, to play rugby.”.

The final squad will be announced soon.