Taia, Glenn miss Kiwis selection

But the good news is they are

available for Cook Islands

Current 2010 New Zealand Kiwi’s Zeb Taia of New Castle Knights and Alex Glenn of the Brisbane Broncos narrowly missed out on this year’s Four Nations selection for the Kiwis.

The two players debut for the Kiwis during the Anzac test earlier this year but were overlooked with so many Kiwi players that are in top form at the moment from the NRL finals.

However, the good news for Cook Islands is they have opted to play for their home land in the Prime Ministers XIII vs NSW (country) with Taia captaining the team.

This is not a full international game between the Cook Islands vs Australia and therefore Taia and Glenn can be released to play for the Cook Islands without jeopardising their selection chances back into the Kiwi squad.

The new international rules for rugby league allows a player to switch back to their country of birth for an international test match if they missed selection for the Kiwis or the country they are playing for. However, if they do then they won’t be eligible to be selected for another country except the Cook Islands for the next two years.

The Pacific nations, led by the legendary Kiwi and Cook Islands international Kevin Iro, have lobbied hard to the International Federation on the ruling to be changed.

The previous ruling disadvantages the Pacific Nations where countries like New Zealand tends to name a large training squad which locks the players in for the Kiwis.

The problem is, when these players don’t get selected for the Kiwis, they can’t play for their birth country.

The new ruling now allows the players who missed out in selection for the Kiwis or the Kangaroos to make themselves available for their home country but with the two year stand down. Releasing the players also allows for a much more equal playing field for all countries, especially the Pacific Nations which enables them to field a more competitive side at international level.

Cook Islands players are eligible for Kiwi selection and it is every player’s dream to be selected for the Kiwis. Hopefully the day will come when the dream and passion to play for the Cook Islands will by stronger than playing for other countries.