Strong season satisfies rugby CEO

A close, competitive club rugby competition and new development initiatives were the highlights of what has been a “very busy and challenging season” for Cook Islands Rugby Union president Ben Koteka.

It comes after the Avatiu Eels defeated the Tupapa Panthers 13-11 in the final to take back the trophy from their village rivals.

Koteka, who also referees club matches when he is not in his CIRU office, said there were plenty of achievements this year for the union.

Of those, the introduction of new development projects including an under 19 tour to New Zealand, Chad Tuoro’s Rippa Rugby assistance as well as the national sevens teams attending events in Wellington, Fiji and Sydney, stood out.

As for a season he described as closer than last year, the chief executive put that down to the traditional rivalries on the island.

“It’s just the nature of local competition – it’s tribal,” Koteka said.

“The top four clubs, the Eels, Panthers, Cowboys and Dragons, have consistently been in the top four for the past five years.”

Koteka said the bottom two clubs, the Reds and the Bulls, had brought in recruits from Samoa and Tonga to boost their teams and it showed on the field.

“Whilst these new recruits are short-term, they do improve club morale with both clubs keeping the top four teams honest.”

Koteka said it would be hard to see just who would take out the upcoming sevens competition because of the tightness of the pre-season encounters.

“At the moment there are no clear favourites, so hard to judge as in the pre-season sevens the top four finish was the Eels, Bulls, Panthers and Cowboys.

“However, in the Constitution sevens tournament the top four finish was the Dragons, Reds, Bulls and the Panthers.”

The message was simple – expect as competitive a season of sevens as its predecessor was.