Niue Rugby League

The Rugby League World Cup kicks off this October, and it’s an exciting moment for the global game.

Unfortunately, it also highlights a missed opportunity for Niue rugby league as a nation.

We are a proud people with proven ability on the world stage, yet under the current administration, we find ourselves without meaningful international progress or presence. From a global perspective, we’ve been in the wilderness for the past 8 years.

As RLWC26 unfolds, we will watch other nations compete while Niue rugby league remains absent from the conversation. Many in the rugby league community are left wondering what happened to the proud rock nation of Niue.

Regardless of the politics, our focus remains the community. The collective, under this banner, have proudly taken teams to Japan, South Africa, and Vanuatu, and we will continue to represent the Niuean jersey with pride - on and off the field.

The current Niue rugby league administration has prevented us from accumulating international ranking points that would have contributed toward potential qualification for events such as the Rugby League World Cup.

That said, sit back and enjoy RLWC26 - it’s going to be a great tournament. But it does make you think: how much better would it have been if Niue were there representing our proud island nation?

Big milestone for our people 💙🇳🇺

Over the last 15+ years, we’ve built something real from the ground up, for our community. No shortcuts, no talk… just consistent work, opportunities, and pathways for our Niue rugby league players.

We are approaching 10,000 followers the largest Niue rugby league platform on social media.

This has always been for the people, by the people. Everyone who’s supported, shared, played, coached, or backed us this is yours 🙌🏽

To give back, we’re running a Niue Rugby League Jersey Giveaway 🎽🔥

How to enter:
✔️ Like this post
✔️ Share this post

Once we hit 10k we’ll draw one lucky winner to take home an exclusive jersey.

We’ll keep doing what we’ve always done building, supporting, and creating real opportunities for our people.

Fakaaue lahi for the love and support 💙🇳🇺

We’ve tried to stay respectful, but enough is enough.

From Niue Rugby League not Sydney, we’re actually out here doing the work building pathways, creating opportunities, and pushing our players onto bigger stages. While others talk, we move.

Let’s be real there was a 7-year window where the international side barely did anything. No activity, no growth, no direction. Meanwhile, we’ve been part of building Niue’s presence internationally contributing to rankings, competing against legit nations, and giving our players exposure against top-level talent.

So don’t sit there and try rewrite history like nothing was done. That’s straight delusion.

Running the same local games and calling it “development” isn’t growing the game. That doesn’t open doors, it doesn’t build pathways, and it definitely doesn’t put Niue on the world stage.

What’s worse is trying to tear down people who are actually pushing things forward. That’s not leadership that’s ego.

Let’s call it what it is: instead of supporting progress, you’re trying to control it. And everyone can see it.

We’re not here to argue back and forth we’re here to build something bigger than all of us. For the players. For the culture. For Niue.

So while you keep talking, we’ll keep moving.

🙌 APPRECIATION ALERT 🙌

A huge shoutout to our Game Operations Crew who joined us on the Niue /Japan tour - Cooper Green (International Touch Judge), Ash Giddins (Niue Team Translator) & Luca Giddins (International Ball Boy). 🇳🇺🇯🇵🏉

These three legends worked quietly behind the scenes to keep things running smoothly - from match prep to game day, everything on the Japan tour went off without a hitch thanks to their effort and professionalism. 💪🔥

They made sure the Niuean warriors on the field could solely focus fully on the battle ahead. 🛡️⚔️

Massive thank you Cooper, Ash & Luca - your hard work and teamwork made a huge difference. You helped make the day a big success! 🙏👏

🇳🇺 A Massive Thank You For An Overwhelming Response 🙏

A huge thank you to everyone for all the love and support from this incredible community - we feel it, and we appreciate it. 💛

The response to our last post has been incredibly overwhelming. The messages and energy coming through the DMs are unreal - the vibes are through the roof! 🔥 We hear you, we see you, and we’re here for you. This is what drives us.

Niue Rugby League at a Seniors level has been missing from the international stage for over seven years. In that time, our world ranking has dropped to 57th out of 57 nations - and we all know Niue is capable of so much more.

Our goal is simple:

👉 Bring Niue Seniors back to the international arena.
👉 Make our people proud on the world stage.

We can see and truly appreciate the great work being done by the other associations - building a fantastic foundation for the future. They’ve tackled the game at the grassroots level, establishing strong governance and structure for our juniors coming through - something we fully support and believe in. It’s a solid platform for the long-term growth of Niuean Rugby League. 🌱🏉

Unfortunately, in that process, our senior players have been left without opportunities for many years, and as a result, Niue’s international ranking has slipped to the very bottom. We’re constantly being asked by the community when and how Niue will rise again - to represent proudly on the world stage.

All we are offering is to act as custodians for the senior team until the proper governing body is ready to take over. We have the experience, the systems, and the passion. We’ve done it before - and we can do it again. 💪

This is not about ego or control - it’s about Niue. 🇳🇺 It’s about ensuring our players, culture, and flag are proudly represented across the world. 🌏

We already have several international fixtures lined up, and while we hope they’ll be officially sanctioned (the only blocker is the Niue governing body), we’ll play them regardless - because seeing Niue play, even in an unsanctioned international, is far better than not seeing Niue play at all. 🏉🔥

🇳🇺 Niue Rugby League - The Reality Check

Niue currently sits 57th out of 57 nations in the IRL Men’s World Rankings - dead last among all member countries of the International Rugby League, the sport’s global governing body.

How did we get here? Why are we at the bottom? How did we drop so dramatically from 21st position just seven years ago?

We have absolute respect for the Japan Samurais and the South African Rugby League, but we know we can compete with them and other nations. Yet for reasons everyone is aware of, the Niue governing body continues to act as a blocker.

If you want to see Niue rise from the bottom of the rankings, please ask the following entities the following questions:

👉 Niue Rugby League - Toa Motu (supposed governing body)
👉 Auckland Niue Rugby League Inc (controlling body)
👉 Niue Rugby League Inc. (controlled body)

a. Why have you been absent for the past 7 years?
b. When will you return to the international stage for Seniors?
c. Why won’t you sanction these matches - the very ones that could help Niue rise in the IRL world rankings once again?

Please, for the sake of the people, publicly share your plans - and show your way out of 7 years in the wilderness! 💛💪

We will happily stand aside and leave it to you - but until you do, we have many more unsanctioned international matches to play and a people to make proud. 🇳🇺🏉

🇳🇺 vs 🇿🇦 Full Game Link ⬇️⬇️

Veo | Match - Niue Vs South Africa Watch Willoughby Roos DJRLFC matches on Veo. This video is recorded automatically using Veo's intelligent recording solution.

🇳🇺🇿🇦

Tough Day in the Office, but got the job done. Only managed to string in 1 training with half the team 2 days ago. Some boys only just met each other today in the dressing rooms. Just shows that we have talented and very passionate kids ready to rip in. Fakaaue Lahi to Everyone that came out to support and everyone online. Huge shout out to South Africa for giving us the chance to play again. All the best in your qualifier against the Cooks in the weekend. Maybe game 5 back in Pretoria again? Haha.. Thank you South African Rugby League 🇿🇦
Apologies for no Live link fam, we do however have a camera setup to record. Will load it up soon as we can.
Once again, Fakaaue Lahi 🇳🇺